Three In The Power of One
by FayTheGay
Summary: Three beings wake up, human and lost. Coping with humanity is one thing, but coping with missing memories? That's an entirely different process. To top it all off something very wrong in the realms of death. That said. It's just another Tuesday, right?
1. 1 - Loki

**So, a while back I said I was going to completely stop posting over here and focus solely on posting my stories to AO3. A few days back I decided that I miss having my stuff posted on both sites so I'm gonna start posting the stuff I've posted over there but not here onto here as well. This was the first fic I posted over there without posting over here so I thought I'd start with that.**

**With that in mind, here goes. This is part of a two part series I call The Three with an assortment of one-shots that will be posted after each fic is completely uploaded here. I'm going to upload a chapter every day until they're uploaded here. **

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**Now, before this fic begins there are a couple things you need to know.**

**Takes place a year following the season 7 finale.**  
**I'm accounting for the missing years between season 5 and 6, and 7 and 8 which are absent in canon. This means it takes place during late 2014.**  
**Angels go to Purgatory, not The Empty, when they die in this fic. This will be explained in more detail at a later point. Hopefully.**  
**There will be OCs. I'd apologize but I'm really not sorry.**

**I am not tagging it for any ships though a couple of ships do appear in the end of it.**

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**Chapter warning: **I'm warning this though it isn't something that generally matters to me. Pronouns are actively ignored by two characters on the genderfluid original character. I know this is a touchy subject for some people but I'm channeling a bit of my own personal thoughts on the pronoun concept through them in the fact that he doesn't care, and as such, those around her aren't super finicky on it.

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**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

Loki opened his eyes, feeling awkward and gangly. Everything was… different. A frown creased his expression, gaze open to the dark night sky, snow dusting across his warm skin already. It was a beautiful night, and he was sure he knew where he was. Hm.

"Fenrir?" He asked the night air, breath puffing out in a small white cloud and he frowned. Well that was… ah, different. So was the strange sensation mingling beneath his skin. Very different. It was almost like… was he cold? "Can you hear me? Jörmun?" He cleared his throat, a low rumbling sounding from nearby catching his attention. "Hela Odensbane!" He called out desperately as he finally forced his aching limbs to move… it hurt. Frowning, he shifted again, yes. He was definitely in pain.

A bright light flashed across his face causing him to flinch away from the sudden infiltration of light in the dark, his eyes shut as the rumbling slowed to a halt.

"There! I see him!" A car door opened with the words from a young sounding female. Car door. That was a car. Which meant… the blinding lights were headlights. Humans. He needed to move but… his body didn't want to cooperate. What was wrong with him?

"Pretty sure that's a chick, Tay." A less distinct voice came as another door opened. Was that male or female? Did it matter?

"Pretty sure you're in no place to judge." The female's voice was closer and he jolted slightly as someone touched his arm, his head twisted around and he was left to stare at a punk rock looking chick with a head of black hair fashioned into a mullet. Odin, save me.

"I'm just sayin'! What if it's not him?" The other voice huffed, finally coming into the line of sight to stare down at him. And really… Yeah, he still couldn't tell whether it was male or female. The jawline definitely suggested male at birth but he wouldn't bet his money on it. Not that it mattered. Again. He just needed a name to work with.

"Then it's not him and she's freezing to death in the snow! Let's play your game. Get them up!" The female huffed, irritation bleeding into her words as the two hooked arms under his surprisingly delicate form.

Oh, Odin… I'm a woman again. He moaned in half frustration, half pain, as the two dragged his weak body to the car- no a truck. If he was right… a white… Ford Ranger? Maybe? It was a truck, but on the plus side it had a back seat.

"What are we going to do with him?" The questionable gendered one asked as they both struggled under his weight to put him in the backseat. It occurred to him that he could help, that these two in their mid-twenties definitely didn't have the muscle mass needed to move him, but he found he was enjoying their struggles. It wouldn't kill them to put a bit of backwork into making sure he wasn't laying in the snow. Not that it could kill him.

"Take them back to your place."

"What? No! Angela would slit my throat for even considering bringing some hot chick home!"

"I can't take them to my place!" The female retorted as he sprawled out in the back, the heat of the car seeping into his skin and making him hum in satisfaction. "We've got a full house."

The door slammed and their voices were muffled by metal and glass. Not that it mattered too much.

He needed a moment to think.

His brain was muddled and foggy and he didn't like that. As a God, he had crystal clear memory. He didn't feel things like cold or heat, and yet, those things were clearly happening. Whoever these humans were, it sounded like they were expecting him, so there was that too.

Ugh.

Apparently, he needed to talk to them.

The driver's door opened and the car shifted under the weight of one of the two got in the car. If he were to guess… the female.

"So," The woman started, turning in her seat and looking back at him. "This is going to sound crazy…" She cleared her throat, looked at him and frowned. "Your name is Loki, right?"

Well that answered a question. He considered how to approach his response, because apparently he was weakened. If these were hunters… maybe he could lie, but honestly… yeah, there wasn't a point.

"Yes." He responded, looking at her closely as the other door opened. A wave of relief crossed the woman's face and she breathed deeply.

"Good. That's good. Phoenix, it's him."

"So, you did the body swap trick?" Phoenix. The one with the less than distinct gender's name was Phoenix. That cleared absolutely nothing up. "Sweet." The second door slammed shut.

"Who are you?" He asked, looking between them, blinking a couple times. "What are you doing here?"

"Um… My name is Phoenix Bradley. This is my soul sister Taylor Harkland. We're the world's most improbable duo of cosplayers."

"Cosplayers." He repeated, throwing an arm over his forehead and groaning dramatically. "Odin, help me. I've been kidnapped by nerds."

"We aren't kidnapping you!" Phoenix sounded downright offended, pouting petulantly.

"What are you doing here?" He repeated the question with an irritated huff of breath.

"We were asked to come here. Honestly… we thought it was crazy. You know, crazy guy in the woods kinda crazy."

"Really crazy." Phoenix reiterated. "That said, I deal in crazy. I figured, well, I'm American. I can shoot a gun. Screw it."

"And I couldn't leave psycho here to fend for herself-"

"Himself."

"Is it Tuesday? Yes. It is. I'm calling you a her. Now shush and let me finish."

Maybe they needed the big god, with a lowercase g because he was a God. These two were off their rockers. Why had he decided to join them? Oh, right. Lack of options. He was splitting town the second he had a chance.

"Fine."

"I got this email, name on it said Carver Edlund. I thought, crazy, you know. I was a fan of the series, not obsessed-"

"Obsession is my zone," Phoenix beamed proudly and Loki got a weird feeling in his stomach, like something he didn't want to hear was about to be said. "I've got first editions of the entire series, run about four fan forums and write some wonderful hetero fanfics."

"You totally write the gay kind too. Don't even try to deny it. I've seen the weird crap in your computer."

"Shut up. Anyways, as she was saying, she got this email."

"Right. Carver Edlund, dude that writes the Supernatural book series, sends me this email. Says that I'll probably think he's crazy. Which, I did. But it said that the Trickster, guy that tortured Sam and killed his brother a thousand times was real. Told me the whole thing was real. He was Loki, and he needed our help."

Sam. Sam Winchester. His frown deepened as he remembered that name, but not just Sam, Dean Winchester was there as well. He'd met them… twice. Why had he wasted his time on them? The motives were… well, just like everything else, foggy.

"Wait- book series? What the hell are you talking about?"

"He doesn't know." Phoenix made a small sound of excitement. "Oh-"

"No, no, no. You are not getting into that crap with him! You hear me, Phoenix?"

"What!"

"I know where your ships lie, girl and if you think for a second I'm subjecting him to a two-hour ride where you weight the merits of Sam-"

"Stop!" Loki's eyes widened, hands going to cover his ears. "Both of you. Please, stop. I can't take this right now."

"Sorry." They both muttered, sounding genuinely ashamed.

"Okay. So back up a bit- you, bird boy. Talk. Mullet rock, drive… wherever you're taking me. I'd really prefer somewhere private." He let his eyes slide closed as the car shifted into gear, backing up first and then moving forward down a rocky road. "So, book series. Care to elaborate?"

Phoenix broke into a short explanation of a book series about two hunters. It starred none other than Sam and Dean Winchester- though apparently the last names were left out of the details, and they followed them closely. Phoenix talked about both incidents where he had encountered the two, asking annoying probing questions about his actual motives. Motives he had no recollection of anymore. What had happened to him?

He was weak, possibly mortal. That wasn't what scared him, though. He had been in that position in the past. What scared- no bothered him was not knowing how he had ended up in that position.

What had happened to him?

Why were the Winchesters involved?


	2. 2 - Coyote

**NOTE: So the first 3 chapters will be uploaded today. I'll start daily uploading tomorrow with the remaining chapters. If you want to read the whole story in its complete form be sure to check me out on AO3, user: FayTheGay**

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

Coyote stared at the cabin in the distance with some form of joy. She was cold. She was _very_ cold. It was cold and snowy. The only bliss was the lack of wind. The light from the cloud drenched sun did basically nothing for the temperature.

She hated the cold.

The clothes she was wearing were thick, almost as though her powers had registered that she was about to be plunged into the deep snow before they mysteriously disappeared.

Being human sucked, but she remembered how it worked. That said… the last time she had dealt with it her body had been… well female.

This was infuriating.

But it was what it was. Whatever had left her here had clearly left her for a reason and it was just a matter of piecing together why. She could do that… assuming she didn't freeze to death first.

Hopefully there was a fireplace in that cabin… and fire.

A howl pierced the otherwise silent air of the vast, frozen, landscape she was in and her breathing caught. Normally, she didn't fear canines. Her powers had always left her in a safe position with canines, even some felines, but as a human?

She needed to move. Trudging through the heavy snow was a pain, each step left her feet sinking in knee deep snow. It was cold.

Had she mentioned she hated snow? And the cold? There was a reason she did her work in the south, in the _heat_.

The cold was a nuisance. Yet again she tried snapping her fingers, huffing in annoyance when nothing happened. Not that she expected it to. The cabin was getting closer and she was certain there was a light emanating from the inside. _Living, breathing, humans._ That being said, she couldn't really explain why she was there. Where she came from. Not even really because she didn't want to know, but because she _didn't_ know. What she knew was the world tasted different, the air dryer and less exposed.

Something was sincerely wrong, though she couldn't place what it was.

The howling pierced her thoughts, sharp and sudden, _closer_, and she shivered violently, tugged her jacket closer around her. There wasn't a lot of space left between her and the cabin now and she could see the area in front of the door, the wood was clean, cared for, the front window covered by a piece of wood from the inside. The roof looked sturdy from the outside and there was a log pile that she knew could be used for a fire, assuming she was alone. Everything said she wasn't, and wouldn't be, though. Shivering violently again, she pressed forward, came to a stop outside the door and noted the careful placement and cutting of the wood. Everything was insulated, someone _had_ to live here and she had to have faith in the balance that she would be rewarded with that fate.

_Knock, knock, knock_. She shivered again, pressing her glove covered hands into her armpits. There was movement on the other side, the sound of something falling, then the door opened, slow and careful.

She was met with the sight of a tall, burly man in his late forties.

Holding a shotgun.

"You are not the coyote girl." His eyes were narrowed and she blinked, frowned. How would this man know that?

"I… my name is Coyote. I-" The howling cut her off again and she gave him the most pleading look she could accomplish. "Please."

The man gave her a once-over before stepping back, never lowering his weapon. She slipped through the door, pressing her back against the wall and watching the man as he closed and placed a board over the frame, latching it in the place. It was gloriously warm inside and if she hadn't had a gun on her she would have thrown herself in front of the fireplace she could see glowing on the other side of the room.

"How do you know who I am?"

"I was told you would be a woman."

"I am a woman. It's complicated. Please."

The man looked her over again. "An angel came to me in the night." He told her, lowering his weapon and allowing her to breathe a breath of relief. "He told me a woman would come to me, a woman named Coyote."

"An angel." She murmured, shivering again. "What angel?"

"He gave me no name. I believed it was a strange dream but… Well, then I saw you."

"Where are we?"

"Northern Alaska, two hundred miles from any civilization." The man answered her. "You can go to the fire." He nodded towards the fireplace and she didn't hesitate as she abandoned the wall, crossing the room and pressing past the raggedy couch to drop to her knees in front of the heat.

"Thank you." She murmured, moving a bit closer and soaking up the heat. "Did this angel tell you anything else?"

"It told me 'the coyote woman will arrive, she will be cold and alone, she will also need your assistance. I am asking you to assist her, Gabriel Tremblay. She will need it'." Something stirred in her at that name and she frowned, pressed her palm to her heart and licked her lips in an almost absent gesture. _Gabriel_. Why was this a name she knew? Was it merely the odd connection between the Christian archangel and her now subdued memories or was it something else vital?

She didn't want to call him Gabriel. That much she knew. That idea left her with a strange sense of… sadness?

She didn't like it.

"Is there another name I can call you?"

"My friends would call my Trem when I was young." He responded as he joined her side, she glanced to her left as he pulled a metal flask out, pressing the metal against his lips. "Where did you come from, boy-girl?"

"A long way from here." She muttered, taking the offered flask and pressing it to her lips. The alcohol burned but heated her insides, giving her a moment to imagine the idea that perhaps she was wrong, that she wasn't in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. "I don't remember what happened to me."

"What do you remember?"

She licked her lips, curled her legs under her. "I remember… I was with my companions. Crow, Anansi, and… Huehuecoyotl. We were playing with some Hunters." Closing her eyes, she smiled slightly. "I won the game and Anansi was bound, tied to a chair. Coyo lead them to us under the guise of another. It was a show to be remembered."

"What are you talking about?" The man asked her and she blinked, looking over at him.

"I am the Trickster God Coyote."

"Gods aren't real." The man responded, expression confused and wary- though not fearful, not even truly doubtful.

"Neither are angels, yet one came to you in the night." She countered with a yawn, hand coming to cross her mouth. "If you truly didn't believe there was something otherworldly happening, you would have shot me when I arrived." A smile crossed his expression as he reached up to tug at his beard.

"I suppose you are right. So you are a God then. Or would you be a Goddess? You said you are a woman."

"I have always been referenced as a God. The term Goddess is… less than endearing. In my mind. You can refer to it as you will, though." Pausing, she gnawed on the inside of her cheek. "Where was the last time you had human interaction?"

"Three months ago."

"Is it winter?"

"The end of it." He responded and she nodded. "You wish to return to civilization."

"Not exactly." She responded, "I just want to understand how I came to be in this position." She looked at him again then back at the fire, "I need to know _why_."

"If the sky is clear enough I may be able to get a phone connection. Do you have someone you could call?"

"Call?" She frowned again and looked at him.

"Like… a phone. You know what a phone is, right?" When she gave him a blank look he chuckled softly, shaking his head. "What year do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure." She admitted and he laughed, deep and amused. It reminded her of Crow and caused a smile to grace her lips as she downed another drink. "I have a feeling I am out of my time."

"I feel the same way, boy-girl." A heavy arm came across her shoulders and she couldn't help but press into the added warmth of the large man, breathing a deep sigh as she pressed into his side. "How about we exchange stories?"

"I can do that." She responded and closed her eyes as he began an explanation of the current time.

The world sounded nothing like the one she last remembered.


	3. 3 - Gabriel

**Note: If you hadn't already gathered by now, this story doesn't actively follow Sam and Dean's perspective. I think there's one chapter in the first fic that doesn't follow the Three. **

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

Gabriel opened his eyes and stared at the metallic ceiling of a vehicle. He knew where he was, for the most part, and he understood _why_ he was there… for the most part. Things were a bit blurry, though. His mind was muddled and cloudy. Something was wrong.

"-mean he's human?"

"I don't know how else to explain it. His Grace is gone, Dean."

Human. No… that wasn't right. Angels didn't become human. Not without a reason, a cause. All that had happened to him was… traveling through a dimensional portal to escape Purgatory.

"Damn it!" Gabriel shifted in his seat, groaning in pain as he struggled into a sitting position.

"Gabriel?" Cas turned around in his seat, hair tousled and expression wary.

"Castiel." He responded, feeling unsure and conflicted. What was this? What had changed? Why did he feel so wrong? Something was missing, and yet, he couldn't place what it was. It wasn't simply the Grace, there was something else. Something… vital. "I am… human?"

"Yes." Castiel answered, "Though… I can't tell why. Your Grace is simply… absent."

Carefully he collected himself, took a mental inventory of his condition. There was a lot missing from his memories, big gaps of a very foggy recollection, and it didn't get easier as it became more recent. The only clear thing he knew was where he was- and why.

"We escaped." He finally said, and laughed, suddenly and sharply, he laughed. It was all so surreal, the wonderful realization that he was _free_.

He could… what could he do? Just as soon as it started, his laughter stopped. What was there waiting for him in this world? What had he done during his off time? He clearly remembered leaving Heaven, escaping the fighting… torturing Sam Winchester… though the specifics of the torture were fuzzy. The same thoughts rested around the details of the Hunters discovering his identity… as well as the Elysian Fields Hotel where he was killed.

His hand came up his stomach, pressing against the scar he knew was etched into his chest. A mark that would never disappear, not as long as he existed, the scar of fratricide. It would follow him across time and existence, any vessel he ever possessed… there would be no way to remove it. Carefully, he unbuttoned the red shirt he was wearing under his green overshirt, twisting his head to look down at the perfect indentation scar in the center of his chest.

_"Here. Amateur hocus pocus. Don't forget, you learned all your tricks from me, little brother."_ His throat closed and he shook his head, fighting with the wave of emotions that threatened to rise. This wasn't normal. His emotions felt… raw, pure, nothing like he had experienced as an Archangel.

"Gabe?" Dean had turned around, "You didn't carry any nasties out did you?"

"Leviathans couldn't have entered me in Purgatory." He responded, redoing the buttons and thinking of the number of times this shirt had been cut up, chunks of flesh ripped alongside it. It always came back. The cycle had gone on for what felt like decades.

Until the impossible happened.

_"We're getting out of here. All of us."_

_"I tortured you- nah, more importantly. Your little bro. You expect me to believe that?"_

_"You gave us the key." Dean countered as he hooked his arm under Gabriel's shoulder, the less confident Castiel watching him with a wariness he couldn't discern. "Cas, get him up."_

_"This is a bad idea." Castiel relented anyway, taking his other side and propping him up, his single leg struggling to support his uneven weight. "He can't run."_

_"No, but I can hop. If you're saving my ass, you're doing a pisspoor job. Move, boys!"_

"That isn't what he asked, Gabriel." Castiel reminded him and he huffed an annoyed breath.

"No, Castiel. Nothing came out with me. I'm worried the problem is in what I left behind."

"You think your Grace remained in Purgatory?" Castiel asked him and Dean stiffened visibly. His Grace was gone… by all rights, he was Fallen, and yet? He remained himself… for the most part. Fallen Angels weren't meant to keep their memories. His Grace's removal had simply left him human, wearing the same Vessel he had possessed before his death.

The solution? It was simple. He wasn't Fallen, he was in another precarious position, one in which he was unsure he wanted to know the origins of.

"Gabriel."

"Read my mind if you want to know." He waved Castiel off as he looked out the window, staring out at the mostly empty parking lot that they had apparently found this vehicle in.

"I can't." Castiel responded and he looked back at the front seat.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"There is a… barrier. I can barely read your aura, much less your mind."

"You're going to need to clarify. Dean, would you drive?"

"Yeah." The Hunter responded, kicking the car into gear and watching him from the rearview. Not that Gabriel blamed him. He was watching his surroundings too, gaze occasionally flicking to the windows to watch for any attackers as they moved from the parking lot onto the road. He was on edge, and he wasn't stupid. The next destination was obvious, but Gabriel wasn't sure how he felt about going there.

After all, he _had_ tortured the younger brother… though the actions and approach remained lost in his less than accurate memory.

"When I look on you," Castiel started, Dean grabbing his arm and causing him to pause. A glance between the two and Castiel was moving, crawling into the back seat and seating himself next to Gabriel. He didn't move when their sides touched, almost a familiar sensation to the less physical action of the mingling of Graces.

He missed that feeling, he realized.

There were a lot of things he missed. Things he couldn't remember the last time he considered. It was strange… the gaps were almost specific and he had a feeling there was something extremely important he was missing- though he couldn't place what it was.

He wanted these gaps filled- but he was also concerned about the outcome if he did. Something was _wrong_. Something had changed between Purgatory and Earth.

Gabriel glanced at his brother, ran his gaze across the trenchcoated form of the seraph. "What exactly do you see, Castiel?"

"I see your Vessel." Castiel responded, gaze wandering across him carefully, probing. "Whenever I try to go deeper, though… it is as though I'm hitting a barrier. I could attempt the invasive approach but if your Grace is still present…"

"It might try to kill you." He finished, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. That wasn't an option. If the simple solution could potentially kill Castiel... It wasn't anything close to an option. It was an idea that would be buried. Castiel and Dean… they were vital, they were important. They were his comrades in Purgatory, the ones that had saved him time and time again when he had believed no one was left that cared.

They were his brothers.


	4. 4 - Loki

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

Loki refused to open his eyes. He wasn't happy that he was awake.

He also wasn't happy to find he playing little spoon to a virtual stranger who was obviously experiencing that morning annoyance humans were prone to. There were two bodies on his sides, and while normally he wouldn't have minded that the environment was a bit unfamiliar, he normally wasn't listening to the sound of a toddler scream at the top of its lungs.

"Tay, I will murder your brother." A voice huffed next to his ear and he grimaced. Right. That was where he was. In bed with two… humans. One of which apparently wrote stories about him and the Winchester brothers… This was normal. Completely normal. So was the weird feeling in his stomach that he was smart enough to equate to hunger.

"I'm sorry, Loki." The bed dipped to his right and he finally forced himself to open his eyes, accept the sight of the yellowing wall covered in more posters than paint lit only by a strand of Christmas lights in the corner. They were in a basement, the both of them had asked permission before crawling into bed alongside him. "I'll get him to shut up." Taylor continued, pulling on a jacket she grabbed off of the back of a chair.

"You done molesting me?" Loki asked, Phoenix released him suddenly like he'd been burned and he snorted. "Don't get your panties in a twist, sugar. I've woken up in worse spots. Guess that answers my question."

"I'm sorry." The bed dipped as the human abandoned him on the mattress and he rolled onto his other side, tilting his head so he could watch the human sit in one of the bean bags on the other wall. "I'm just- you know… you're hot."

"Should I be ashamed that I'm hot? No. I'm still unsure why I'm a… woman. Not the first time of course but it's never been my favorite form. Anyways," Loki carefully moved into a sitting position, grimacing at another sensation. His back hurt. The previous night he definitely hadn't noticed it, but the night before he had been trying to fully grasp the situation he was in. He hadn't even really had a chance to look at himself yet. A base analysis told him he had a c-cup, slim waist, he was significantly shorter than Taylor who probably stood at about 5'6, and his hair was long. Everything specific hadn't made itself known yet.

"Are you okay?" Phoenix asked, frowning and looking him over carefully from his distance.

"My back." He admitted, ignoring the obvious sound of shouting coming from up the stairs. "Could you look?"

"Uh- yeah, sure." Loki carefully moved out from under the thick comforter, flinching when the cold hit his skin. He twisted around, movements stiff and achy as he struggled to cope with the physical pain he was in. Footsteps sounded behind him as he tugged the too big green overshirt off of his arms, the red button up coming off next and causing him to hiss as the chill touched every inch of his skin, causing unpleasant reactions in his body. "Holy crap."

"How bad's it, doc?" Loki asked, flinching away as fingers touched his back.

"Bruises. They're- big. Symmetrical… on each side of your spine." Phoenix's fingers brushed against his skin and he flinched away from the touch. "Next to here." He touched the center of his spin, pressing his palm to the center of it carefully. "This long."

"Are you molesting him again?" Taylor's voice broke through the air.

"No, he's not. Bird boy, take a pic. I want to see this."

Something was wrong. People didn't bruise symmetrically. Especially gods. Especially _him_.

"What is it?"

"Do you have a heater?" He traced his hands across his stomach, flat, basic, no real muscle or fat. "Anything to warm it up down here. How do you _live_ in this?"

"The heater's busted. My dad's fixing it once we have the money. Are you hungry?"

"Yes." He admitted, hands going lower to trail along the edge of his dark jeans, barely held on by a belt. "Do you have some clothes I can use?" A flash came from behind him, bright and sudden in the dimly lit room.

"My sister might be more your size."

"Great. I need something to wear that doesn't feel like it's swallowing me." A metal object appeared in front of him and he took it with a frown. A phone? There was an image on the screen but he was distracted for a moment by both the size and slimness of it.

"What year is it?"

"Year? It's uh… two thousand fourteen."

That was- that wasn't possible. That _couldn't_ be possible. His memories were wrong, distorted and fractured but he was _certain_ it was two thousand and nine. It _had_ to be. There was no logical way that it could be that much later. No matter what, he _knew_ time.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He shook the bird's question off, looking down at the screen of the phone, the image illuminating two deep black marks about as long as Phoenix's hand and as wide as his own. _Really not fond of this form._ "That… it doesn't make sense."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm missing about six years worth of time, I'm a woman, oh- and I'm completely powerless. I'm _peachy_. Give me your computer. I need to email this Carver Edlund back." He dragged his button up back on begrudgingly.

"You're welcome." Taylor huffed in annoyance, footsteps stomping away and a door opening and slamming shut.

"What's her problem?" Loki pulled the blanket back over himself, watching as Phoenix walked to the wall and flicked on a light. Upon closer inspection, it was more obvious now. Phoenix seemed to have dyed his hair accordingly, his hair a bright array of oranges and reds. He was dressed plainly, still wearing whatever it was he'd been wearing when they picked him up the night before with the exception of the heavy jacket that had been hiding his flat chest. Not that he could say much about identity in his current position.

"You're being an ungrateful ass." Phoenix responded bluntly and Loki huffed in annoyance, falling back on the mattress and staring at the ceiling.

"Sorry if I'm pissy. You do understand that I am a _God_, right? You know, Norse, Pagan, asshole is part of the description. Especially when I'm dealing with humans and a thousand questions _you can't answer_."

"Actually-" Loki stared at Phoenix who shifted uncomfortably, looked at him, then away. "I do have something."

"Then please. Spill."

"You have to apologize to Taylor."

"You're kidding me, right?" If he still had his powers… _ugh_. If he had his powers he wouldn't have stayed. Besides, for humans… they weren't terrible.

"No. Like I said last night. She's my soul sister." He snagged the phone from where he'd unceremoniously dropped it on the blankets, "Apologize and I'll tell you what I know. Otherwise you can sit down here and I can go home."

"What? And leave me for the nightmare upstairs? I thought you were a fan!"

"Fan does not equate to letting me and my sister get treated like dirt on a God's shoes." Loki groaned loudly and fell back on the mattress. "The bathroom is upstairs. Her mom probably knows you're here. If anyone insinuates you're together, I'd deny it because it'll just create problems for later."

"Upstairs." Loki repeated, "Can we _please_ go to your house?"

"Angela wouldn't be happy with me. I can't exactly tell her I picked up a stray God off the side of the road because the supposedly dead writer of one of my book series emailed me. Answer's no, Loki. You get to deal with Tay's small army."

"Small army… How many people live in this house?"

It hadn't looked super big from the outside, maybe three bedrooms, but considering he'd seen someone asleep on both of the couches and one recliner in the living room on the way in… yeah, that didn't sound promising in the least bit. On one hand, the Norse pantheon was a massive family. The thing was they had a lot more _space_ which he could already tell was a problem here.

"There's three bedrooms, her two little sisters and toddler brother have one of them, her mom and dad have the second, and the third belongs to her aunt and her daughter. On top of that-"

"I've heard enough." Loki grabbed a handful of his frustratingly long hair, grimacing at the feeling of tangles. _Ugh_. "I need out of here." He looked down at his clothes again, grabbed his still discarded overshirt and checked the pockets.

_Empty_.

"Gratitude will get you miles, Loki."

"Fine." He could play this game, he knew how it worked, even if he didn't like it. "Where's your sister at?"

"Probably getting you clothes." Phoenix huffed a breath and slumped into a bean bag again, grabbing a remote and pressing a button. The Doctor Who theme broke out loudly from a TV he hadn't noticed on the other wall. "Bathroom's upstairs."

"I can hold it." In theory. Besides… well, he could enjoy himself some David Tennant. With a final look at the crossed ankles of Phoenix, he walked over and dropped down onto the futon.


	5. 5 - Coyote

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

Coyote opened her eyes, the smell of something… wonderful infiltrating her senses. It had to be fish. That scent was more than familiar enough for her.

"You awake, boy-girl?" A gruff male voice asked and she hummed in approval, not yet ready to move from her pallet next to the fire. "We will need to gather wood today if you insist on the large flames."

"Of course." She responded, not finding the response unreasonable- even if she knew that it was going to involve her being forced to bear the frozen wilderness. "What are you cooking?"

"The last of my fish stocks." Trem admitted to her and she rolled her head a bit to the right to see him standing outside of a dark metal stove, the exhaust was being fed up and she suspected it was angled outside to keep the snow out. "Since you aren't sure what state your body is in I've concluded that eating the main food groups is a good approach."

"You shouldn't waste your food on me." She mused, not exactly meaning it. The situation was distinctly obvious. Whatever it was that had left her there, it had chosen this man. There was likely a reason, though she couldn't be sure what it was. What she knew was she needed to reach civilization, and until that could happen… she would have to remain here.

"Don't play me for a fool, God-girl. You don't value my life over yours."

"Heh." She smiled, pushed into a sitting position, carefully keeping the fur blankets away from the open flame at her feet. "I do care, though. Well- not care perhaps." No point in lying about it. Carefully, she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, flinching slightly at a strange feeling in the central part of her back. That was… strange. "I'm empathetic." She admitted, shifting uncomfortably as she moved the area that was sore. Strange.

"Empathy and honesty. Two strange parts of a whole."

"I have two questions." She admitted after a moment. Now that she began to recognize the area it was getting more obvious as to what it was. Pain. She was in pain. True, honest, physical pain… what was that?

"There is a pail in the corner for you to do your business." He told her bluntly and she smiled for a moment, because yes, that was a question she had. It wasn't the answer she'd wanted- though she'd been suspicious. "You know how to do that, correct? I don't need you goin' all over the floor."

"I can aim." She responded, grimacing slightly. Human men were… uncomfortable for her. The female body was so much simpler. Sighing, she surrendered to basic human needs. Carefully, she abandoned the furs and waddled to the far end of the room, relaxing a bit at the revelation that he had been decent enough to clean it for her.

Though that prospect was less than appealing.

Once her business was complete she managed to fumble her buttons on her heavy pants shut- though she didn't redo her upper half.

"You said you had a second question." He acknowledged her as he set out two plates on the floor, each with a fish surrounded in berries and plants that she had once known the names of, the origins, the tiny details.

"Yes." She admitted as she seated herself across from him, crossing her legs carefully as she stared at her plate. "I am in pain. It feels as though something is wrong with my back. I need you to look at it."

"Oh, thank god." The man murmured and she raised a brow at him. He looked a bit sheepish. "I was worried you would ask me to examine something more…" He gestured awkwardly and she blinked, realization registering with her and a warm blush crossing her face.

"I have been in male bodies before, Trem. Just because I prefer female… it doesn't mean I have no experience in both. Even if I didn't, I am not innocent nor naive. I have had a healthy experience with both male and female bodies in my past."

"Right." The man cleared his throat, face reddening more with each of her words and she couldn't help the sly grin the leached into her expression.

"That said, human-boy. If you are interested in _exploring_ my body, I am open to the concept." The look he gave her was appraising- and uninterested. Not that she minded too much. If he would allow the flirting? Well, she definitely wasn't going to complain at the option.

"Do you actually know what you look like?" He asked her and she pressed her lips together. Well… not really. She knew what he big coat looked like, her heavy winter pants, brown boots… everything external. The rest of her body? Well… she wasn't vain enough to have paid a lot of attention. "I'm only askin' since you're sayin' woman and, well, you're not."

"I'd assume I'm wearing the form I was wearing before I lost my memories." She responded, "I'm short enough that I could be a woman, except the obvious." She thought back on the recent events, "I have stubble on my face. My hair is short enough it fits under my hood without causing me trouble." Though it definitely wandered into her eyes while she was pressed up against Trem for warmth, so it was long… to an extent. "I don't have anything odd on me, do I?"

"No." He responded as he ate. Her gaze wandered a bit as he swallowed the food before she shook her head and looked back at her meal. "If I were attracted to men, I could see myself being interested. If you were a bit older."

"How old am I?" She frowned, looking down at her body again but unable to see past the coat. Yeah, she wasn't taking it off until she needed to. Which would unfortunately be soon if the sharp pain that jolted through her back was anything to go by. She needed to make sure she didn't have a stab wound or something similar there.

"If I were to wager a guess… early forties, maybe younger."

"That's all? Well at least I keep my taste." She sighed heavily, "So about this… injury. Do you mind?"

"Sure, right." He responded and she pushed away her now empty plate, unsure of when she'd eaten it all. Not that it mattered… though she would kill for something more, sweeter. Sighing, she twisted around carefully as he came up behind her. Her fingers fumbled a bit with the zipper and she was sure it was avoidance rather than difficulty that made her do so. She didn't want to do this because it meant exposing herself to the chill of the cabin.

The cold could die. When this was all over she was going south, anywhere where it never snowed. Even if she never got her powers back, she wasn't staying here. Not in this frozen landscape. The cold was for madmen, and oddly generous oafs. Not that she was complaining. Not at all.

"Do you need help?"

"Could you?" She asked, twisting her arms around carefully as he helped tug the heavy thing off of her shoulders.

Almost immediately she regretted it as the chill of the room assaulted her skin through the layered fabric of the clothing beneath her coat. The pain in her back was made abundantly clear as she let out a violent shudder.

"I promise it isn't that cold, boy-girl."

"No one asked you, human-boy." She retorted with a huff as she looked down at her clothing. Underneath the coat she had been wearing a green overshirt with a deep red button up under it. Something curled uncomfortably in her stomach as she raked her gaze across it before she made the choice to brave the cold, popping the buttons off of the undershirt quickly.

Her breathing stopped as she stared at the white of a scar at the center of her chest, angled off in a way that _almost_ felt familiar… though she couldn't place why. What was that?

"You alright?"

"What? I um… yes. Just a… strange feeling is all." Shaking her head a bit to clear it she removed the two shirts quickly, flinching again at the pain in her back.

"Woah."

"Woah what?" Coyote asked, frowning, turning her head a bit and trying to get a glimpse at the man behind her.

"There are- bruises. Two large… dark bruises. On each side of your spine."

"Bruises." She repeated with a frown. There was nothing in the room that she could use to look at herself, and even if she could… "Outline them. Please."

After a moment of silent hesitation a finger came onto her back, rough fingers grazing the skin of her back. Mentally, she mapped them out, trying to understand what exactly it was that was marring the skin of her back. She couldn't place it though. It didn't make sense.

"How are your art skills?"

"Poor." Trem admitted and she sighed heavily, grabbed the shirts and tugged them back over her arms. "I wish I could do more."

"Do they look familiar? At all."

"No." Trem responded as she carefully redid the buttons on her shirt, buttoning the overshirt for good measure. "I wish I could be more helpful."

"If you could get me out of here you would be a great help."

"I told you last night. It will take a week for my brother to come here. It's seldom that I call to begin with and he's in another part of the state."

"Calling people." She sighed forlornly, looking at the poster on the wall as he helped her get the coat back on. Fire wasn't her element, it had always been water, but as she looked at the flame in the fireplace she found that she enjoyed it. "So how can I help you today?"

"I have a spare axe in the yard. You know how to cut wood, right?"

"I understand the premise. I used to watch natives cut trees down." Coyote responded with a smile, "I enjoyed deterring some foul souls."

"Did you kill them?"

"Sometimes." Coyote answered honestly, "Never unless they truly deserved it. Unlike some of the others, I didn't take joy in it. I preferred the game."

"A Trickster God. That's what you told me last night."

"I liked playing with people, the killing was a side effect that I generally avoided." She answered with a shrug, "There are some people that deserve to die, just like there are some that deserve to live."

"I have never heard a truer statement." Trem mused as she struggled to her feet, turning to offer her hand to help him stand.

"So how're we doing this?"

"Blood, sweat, and tears." He responded with a broad grin. "Get ready to work like you've never worked before God-girl."

She was not looking forward to it, at all.


	6. 6 - Gabriel

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

Gabriel watched from the back of the room as Dean waited to ambush Sam from the door. In all honesty, he hadn't expected to do it, but he also didn't blame the hunter for the precautions. From his understanding of the time after he died… the world wasn't a pretty place. Still, though. He was hungry and tired and really wished Dean had been willing to hold off the reunion in favor of feeding them, but he was adamant.

"Woah, Dean! I'm not a shifter-" Dean went through a series of tests, a baffled and confused Sam struggling- before surrendering to the assault. When it was all over they paused for a long moment, stared, and then they were hugging. It was a hug Gabriel had seen countless times between Dean and Castiel, that he had been on the receiving end of once or twice since they found him.

"Good to see you." Sam murmured so low that Gabriel almost didn't hear it.

"You have no idea." When Dean pulled away his focus moved to the other end of the cabin where both Gabriel and Castiel were seated, "Sam-"

"_Gabriel_?" If he was honest, he hadn't been sure how Sam would react to his return. It could've been anything after everything he'd put the younger brother through. In a way, he'd almost hoped for it. After all, he was the Archangel of justice and… well, he had tortured Sam. The details remained blurry, but it didn't change what he knew, and he was directly responsible for months of grief.

"Sam."

Dean gave him a look that screamed concern, concern he wasn't sure was for his wellbeing or for his reaction. It did feel off- though he couldn't quite place _why_.

"What- _how_?" Sam looked at Dean then back at him, confusion and some other emotion that he couldn't begin to comprehend on his expression.

"It's a long story." Dean responded, shifting slightly.

"Where were you?" Sam asked them all, his gaze moving to Castiel as he rose off the mattress, crossing the room and sharing his own hug with the younger brother.

"Turns out exploding Dick lands you a one-way ticket to Purgatory." Dean said as a means of explanation, Gabriel flinched slightly at the reminder of their afterlife. It had been years for him, a long, drawn out trek from the underside of Purgatory. A trek that had almost been destroyed by the leviathans until Dean and Castiel had shown up.

Until they had saved his life.

"Purgatory? You were in Purgatory?" Sam looked at them all after he released Castiel and Gabriel shifted, averted his gaze. "All of you?"

"When an angel dies," Castiel spoke up as he returned to Gabriel's side, seating himself at his side. "We are sent to the underside of Purgatory."

"Unless our Father is feeling generous, we are trapped there," Gabriel continued for him, breathing deeply and meeting the younger brother's gaze. "For the rest of eternity. If we choose it, we can crawl out of the underside, but it's a suicide mission."

"So you've been down there since…"

"I have been in Purgatory since my brother stabbed me in the heart." Gabriel responded bluntly. "After Castiel killed Raphael, I decided that trying to survive the journey through Purgatory would be a worthwhile way to spend my time."

"Gabriel… are you feeling okay?" Castiel asked him and he frowned, eyed his younger brother warily.

"Yes?"

"Right. You're the picture perfect image of healthy." Dean huffed loudly in annoyance. "You're right, Cas."

"What?" Gabriel looked back at Dean, worry manifesting in a way that he hadn't expected. What was wrong? Why?

"You're acting like an angel." Sam spoke up, and it might have been funny, the idea that Sam caught on before the two that had been companions to him for… what felt like thousands of years in Purgatory. Except… well, it was something he had been wondering about, a secret he had intended on keeping for as long as he could. At least until they were somewhere more private, somewhere where they couldn't be attacked. Apparently, he wasn't as good at this show of whatever he had been as he thought he was.

"Can we discuss this in the car?" A short look at Dean was enough to give him the answer he needed.

"Yeah. We need to eat anyways." Dean responded and Sam frowned, looked long and hard at them.

"Alright." The younger conceded, giving his brother a 'we need to talk' look that Gabriel recognized from… he couldn't quite remember that part.

Yeah, there was something seriously wrong with him. There was too much missing for there _not_ to be. The question was… what? and why?

_Father, please help us._

The group filed out, Gabriel eyeing Sam but biting back frustration as he took to Dean's right, Castiel settling into the familiar place on the left. It was frustrating, a change he knew he needed to accept, but he also couldn't help but feel a stab of annoyance. This would take some getting used to… a lot of getting used to. But he would make it work, he couldn't lose his brothers. Not again, and not if he could do something to keep them.

A smile creased his face when Dean finally approached the brothers' Impala, the older hunter practically swooning over the vehicle as he hugged the vehicle.

"Do I need to give the two of you a minute?" Sam asked and Gabriel's smile widened, Dean flipping a finger at Sam who chuckled softly.

"Screw off, Sammy."

"Just sayin'." Dean pulled open the driver's side, slipped into the seat and without a word both Castiel and him slipped into the back. Sam joined after a moment of hesitation, looking between the three of them with a look he couldn't place.

It was Dean that spoke up when the car started moving, "Gabriel. What's the deal? It's not just your Grace."

"No." He admitted, turning his head to watch out the window.

"His Grace is gone?" Sam asked.

"Yes, Sam." Castiel spoke for him.

"When I woke up, there were gaps. There still are gaps. Pieces of my memories which are… inaccessible. At least that was what I assumed at first, but during the ride here I started to wonder… Leaving Heaven for me, it was never a question of it happening, it was a when. I had begun preparing something for when I left, which is part of what I can't remember. Even if my memory is human now, the gaps shouldn't be this specific."

"What are you thinking, Gabriel?" Castiel asked him.

"I can't remember what I've forgotten, but I can imagine what I would have done to leave Heaven."

"You faked your death." Castiel reminded him unnecessarily. That part he remembered, vividly. Faking his death had taken a lot of effort and permanently scarred his wings and true form.

It had also hurt.

"Yes, I did, and to follow that I would have needed to hide. So, the question is." Finally, he peeled his gaze from the window, looked between the brothers, "When you met me, who was I?"

"You were the Trickster." Sam responded.

"The gods called you Loki." Dean added and he pressed his lips together, the name wasn't familiar but… he liked it. It felt almost… right? "You don't remember that at all?"

"No." Gabriel responded, "That was at the Elysian Fields, right?"

"Yeah." Sam's voice was neutral, he noticed, and Gabriel had to wonder what the hunter was thinking. He could read both Castiel and Dean easily enough, there were perks to spending years in Purgatory with them, especially when they were near the dens of maras and needed pure silence.

Sam, however, was different. Even the things he knew about the hunter from before his death were a fraction of what they should have been. Though… he wasn't sure why.

"I remember confronting my brother there, and I remember saving that goddess… though I can't remember why."

"You told us that you and her had a- thing."

"You seduced her to try to free us," Dean added. "Not that it worked. You faked your death to her and tried to run like the coward you were. Then you-"

"-went inside and stood against my brother._"_

_"Lucifer... you are my brother..."_

"I tried to…"

_"But I know where your heart truly lies." Crippling pain as a blade pierced through him, "Here. Amateur hocus pocus. Don't forget, you learned all your tricks from me, little brother." White hot agony as his Grace erupted in a burst of energy that he barely contained in his last moments._

"I tried to kill him, and he stabbed me in the heart."

"Yes." Dean responded, "So you remember that?"

"Sort of." Gabriel responded, "Some of the details are… missing. I think I understand what's happened though."

"Gabriel?" He ignored Sam's tone as he tugged his shirts off without too much trouble.

"What are you doing-" Castiel's words died on his lips as Gabriel turned, exposed the expanse of his back and the large bruises he knew were lining the skin there. "That-"

"I've known since I woke up that something was wrong. If I were to guess, there's something else marking the other power absence."

"You think your personalities split."

"I didn't Fall. It is rare, but it does happen."

"What're you talking about?" Dean asked from the front seat and Gabriel twisted himself around, moving to the center seat -much to the annoyance of Castiel- and turning his back on the two hunters.

"Those are-"

"You have actual wings?" Sam blurted, intrigue clouding the words. The nerd hunter. Gabriel thought about Purgatory, Dean's reaction to seeing an angel's wings for the first time. He had to wonder how the younger brother would react to actually seeing them. Maybe if he ever got his own back he would share them.

"Yes, Sam." Castiel answered for him.

"My current suspicions go back to Lucifer's Fall. When he Fell, he didn't Fall with Grace. I mean this literally. His Grace didn't go with him. He was split in two, for a while. There were two aspects of him walking the Earth and it took a long time for him to reconvene the two. There were two parts, the Devil, and Lucifer." He explained, turning back around in his seat and tilting his head a bit when he noticed Sam peeling his gaze from the rearview mirror.

Yes, he would let Sam see his wings. The hunter would want to, and it wouldn't be harmful to share them.

"But you didn't Fall." Dean pointed out, "You came back to life."

"Leaving Purgatory would have been as detrimental to me as being cast from Heaven was to him. My guess, the Loki portion of my mentality is somewhere else on Earth."

"This doesn't explain why you're human." Which was true, though he honestly couldn't explain it. He didn't know _why_ he was powerless, Lucifer had never lost his powers. Whatever it was that had caused his humanity…

"No, but it's a start." He admitted, pulling his shirts back on. "When Lucifer found the Devil, all they had to do was touch and it brought them back together. We just need to find my other portion. We'll reconnect and hopefully it'll break whatever is binding my powers.

"Right, because finding a human Loki's going to be easy." Dean sighed heavily as they pulled into a parking lot and he realized they had arrived in a town. When had that happened? He wasn't focused enough.

"We've done more with less." Sam reminded his brother.

"Whatever. We're eating, then you're telling me what you've been doing while we were gone."

Gabriel shifted in his seat, thinking back to the early days of Heaven. The days when Michael and Lucifer had been truly close, dangerously codependent.

Before everything had fallen apart.


	7. 7 - Loki

**Here's some of my infamous crappy translations from the mouth of google. Enjoy.**

**Fifl = fool, idiot**

**Kuensami = skirt chaser**

**Huglausi = cowardly**

**Blot = heathen**

* * *

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

Loki tugged on the Nirvana T-Shirt and jeans he'd received, looking at his face in the mirror over the top of Taylor's dresser as he shoved a headband into his hair to keep the annoying strands from his eyes. The body he was wearing, it was close to being a female version of his last one. The hair was a dark blonde that went down to just over his ribs, getting lighter as it moved. The eyes were also a bit darker- but for the most part, he would bet money on it being him. Well, his last form. A more female version of his last form. He remembered his body from then, even the outfit was familiar when he thought about the day he had stupidly decided to help the Winchesters against Lucifer. Though the events were fuzzy. If he were to guess, he had probably been killed by Lucifer along with all of the others.

Yeah, it was probably for the best that he didn't ask for any Pagan help. Not that he wanted to, not really. He could do this on his own.

"Are you done?"

Rolling his eyes, he rolled his head to the side where Taylor had her back to him, Phoenix having abandoned them for breakfast while he'd snuck upstairs to deal with the annoying human necessities.

"Are you really modest? Or are you worried you'll enjoy what you see?" She turned around, face still red from when he'd started to strip down in front of her.

"I'm more than aware of where my sexuality stands, Loki-"

"Oh, right. Favor here, Tay-bay. I need you to keep that name off your tongue."

"What're you talking about?"

"Well, before I died I pissed off a _lot_ of Gods and Goddesses, comprende? Tried to save the vessels of the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse from a really pissed off Archangel. Chances are the blame for the bloodbath will get thrown on my head and I rather _like_ having a head."

"What should I call you then? Lola?"

"What? No. Gross. Lola sounds like a stripper. Call me Logi. It's an old Norse word that means-"

"Flame. I know what it means."

"Oh, lovely. Clever girl knows her old Norse. How about you enjoy the show or leave me be, _fifl_?"

"This is my house, _huglausi kuensami blot_."

"Careful, Taylor. Mouth like that might get you smote by the Gods." A broad grin crossed his expression anyways. This girl was fun, and she was short fused. Sure, he should've been doing what he could to get on their good side. The thing was that it was becoming abundantly clear that they didn't really want to get rid of him. Whatever was happening here, they needed him, and he knew they needed him. They were right where he wanted them, and it didn't matter if they were smart enough to know because he had no intentions of backing off.

If he did, he would get bored, and idle hands may have been the devil's playground but a Trickster trapped as a human was a petri dish for torment.

"You did just tell me you were hiding from those Gods. I'm all for helping you, _Logi_. The thing is, I also know who you are."

"Do you, now?" Loki raised an eyebrow at her in challenge.

"You're a coward. An asshole coward who I would've left to freeze to death if Phoenix hadn't _begged_ me to let you stay. I won't ask for respect because you can't be bothered to respect your own family. I'm telling you that if we hadn't gotten you? You would've frozen to death because you are a weak, vulnerable, _coward_ who has no idea how to do anything for anyone but yourself."

Loki snorted, eyes narrowing into slits. "You have _no idea_ what I am, girl."

"I know that you're an arrogant God, and right now, you're an arrogant human. It may have worked when you were a God and Phoenix may be fangirling his ass off but if you think you could do better, please, be my guest. Walk out my front door and make it as a human. Or you can stick around, we'll _help you_ find your powers, and you don't have to do jack shit except sit here and binge watch Netflix."

There was a long moment where the two stood and stared between each other. There were two thoughts he had in that moment. The first was simple enough. It was the rage of the God he was, it was the threats of torture that she couldn't begin to comprehend.

The second was the brief momentary thought of _I could really like this human_.

The second made him want to torture himself by the same means. He didn't like humans, he didn't _respect_ humans. They were playthings, nothing more, and nothing less.

The biggest problem rested with the fact that she wasn't necessarily _wrong_. But it didn't make it any better. He couldn't one-up her argument because she _was_ right. To an extent.

The best option was to use his current weaponry. Without a word he stalked forward, grabbed her by her shoulder and shoved her backwards. With a startled cry she fell back, pressed flat against the concrete wall and a poster of some band. Just as she opened her mouth to shout -for help no doubt- he pressed in on her, slotted his mouth over hers and kissed her. It wasn't passionate, it was a struggle that quickly turned into a battle for dominance between the two of him.

A battle which he won.

An hour later he had his arm tucked behind his head as he stared over at the girl who was actively refusing to look at him as she tugged her clothes back on.

"This changes nothing."

"Of course not. It never did with Thor either." He hummed, feeling far more sated than he had in a while. Yeah. This was definitely something he'd needed. Not to mention the fact that he'd proven his point. "I've got to admit, though. I didn't actually expect you to go the extra mile there. After all, hate sex is supposed to be about self-indulgence, isn't it?"

"I'm done here."

"Mhm. Until you aren't. Remember? I'm your roommate now. That was the promise, wasn't it? I can stay here until you help me with my stuff. Besides, you are a consenting adult. Just because I'm _fantastic_ in the bedroom doesn't mean you couldn't have said no. Hel, I even asked. If I remember right, there was a 'don't you dare stop, you arrogant asshole' in there. Which is fair. But also. You don't get to blame me."

"I'm going to eat." She said slowly, glowering at him after she tugged her pants back on. "You're going to join me."

"Bitterness doesn't suit you." He clucked his tongue, shoving the blanket off anyways and swinging off the side. "But fine. I'll eat."

"I'd be careful. You're human now. You can't survive off of sugar."

"Now that may be the cruelest thing you've said to me since I arrived, honeybun. But it's fine. I'll manage." Probably. "I have to ask, though. I absolutely pegged you for straight."

"I'm straight… usually." Taylor admitted, looking over at him, "And you're a man, usually. So it works."

"Was I your first woman?" He taunted as he tugged jeans on. "Don't spare the details. I always love to outplay my competitors."

"No. You weren't. And despite your ego, you definitely _weren't_ better than her."

"I guess we'll have to try again, then. You've wounded my ever-fragile ego."

"It's not going to happen again." The air of bitterness lining her tone did nothing but spur him on. Oh, yes. It would. It was going to happen again and they both knew it. It wasn't an _if_. It was a _when_.

"Right. Your friend's also going to keep his paws off me."

"He's in a healthy relationship."

"So am I. I'm married, have five kids, and I love my wife dearly. It doesn't mean I didn't just give you some of the best sex of your short life."

"If you love your wife why don't you ask _her_ for help?"

"Because she probably wants me dead." He responded bluntly, grabbing one of her dark blue wool jackets off of a chair and draping it across his shoulders. "In their minds, I didn't save Odin from that dick Archangel. Not that it's accurate at all. The second he showed up we were all screwed. I could try to defend myself but you know your lore."

"Cowardly god of fire, trickery, and self-indulgence. But you were known to protect yourself above anyone else. They'll think you traded the other gods for your survival."

"Bingo! Since I'm the only living being from that incident, it looks _really_ bad on me." He responded, ignoring the insults. They could fuel the next fire of the next time he seduced her.

Because he had every plan for there to be a next time.

"You're covering your own ass by avoiding your entire family. You know, Phoenix might actually respect you more than I thought."

"What're you talking about?"

"That's not my story to tell." She responded with a grim smile. "The kids should be at school by now… please keep it between us what happened."

"Cross my heart, I'll keep it between our posse."

She made a face at him, rolled her eyes, "You do understand that Phoenix already knows, right?"

"Really?"

"Remember? Soul siblings."

"You were being literal?" In honesty, he hadn't expected that. Though the term soul sibling was a bit less accurate if what she was implicating was actually true. They were rare, and in his long life he had only ever seen it once. Soulmate was the common term, two almost dangerously interlocked souls that were destined to destroy each other. The only other two he'd personally encountered were Sam and Dean Winchester.

"A hundred percent. See, I didn't believe in magic when I was younger, but Phoenix did. It became glaringly obvious the older we got too. I know things about him that I never wanted to. He gets the same things, did the research. Eventually we confirmed that, yes, there's something weird going on."

"You two done?" A voice came down the stairs and she snorted. "Kidding." Loki looked at the stairwell as Phoenix descended. "Mom's asking for you. Might want to show your face before she starts nosing around. Stinks like sex down here."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"Not at all. Sex hair suits you though, sis. You consider using it full time." Loki gave her his most sheepish look as realization dawned on her expression.

"You asshole!"

"What? Mine's smooth as crystal. Not like they can piece it together off of hair alone."

"I'm going to kill him." The look she was giving him screamed honesty and he might've been afraid, if he didn't know better. She wasn't a killer, and she may have been angry, but the worst he'd get would be a punch to his face. Maybe some less rewarding hate sex.

"Rash decisions, little sis. I'd help you hide a body but I can't promise I'd be any good at it."

"Don't worry. Mom knows that hitman." Taylor was glaring at him with enough hostility that he almost wondered if she _could_ kill him with a look.

"Oh, I'm shaking in your sister's clothes." Loki smiled widely, "I dare you to try to kill me, little girl."

"I can't- Phe, _please. _Can you-"

"Yeah, I've got it. Let's go, Lo. Breakfast and I think her sister's got a stash of honeybuns or something that can sate your sweet tooth."

"I think it's already been sated this morning." He hummed, winking at the increasingly angry looking Taylor before trailing after his fiery haired toy- who he decided was definitely dressed more feminine than male. "Girl today, andro boy?" He hummed as they ascended the stairs.

"Usually am. Not that I'm going to kill you for pronoun mixups."

"That's good because you are a beautiful woman." He hummed, grinning at the back of Phoenix's head.

"And you are cute, but I'm in a relationship."

"And I'm a God." He countered as Phoenix pushed the door open, "C'mon. I convinced your prude of a friend to agree. I know you're curious."

"I'm a lot of things. A whole lot, but I'm also loyal. I'm not going to screw you, Logi. If you think I will, you have been seriously mistaken."

"I'm taking this as a challenge."

"Take it as you will. It doesn't change the fact that I'm not interested."

"You are interested. I woke up to a rager that _confirmed_ that you're interested."

"Interest doesn't mean action. Did you honestly think it's going to be that easy? I've got to be wined and dined, Trickster. I don't fall for the same crap my sister does."

"Dully noted." He hummed, pressing forward and throwing his shoulder over Phoenix's shoulder. For the most part, he was ignored as he was walked down a hallway and turned to the right where a large dining table had been raided for most of its food. There were only two people in the room, a Hispanic woman in her mid forties that reminded him a lot of one of Huehuecóyotl's old forms. They had only met once, back in the early time of his life, and he hadn't been a fan of the Aztec Trickster. Despite his wishes the God had been too docile for his tastes and he had left shortly after meeting him. Still, though. The woman was nice to look at and it wasn't a question that she was the mother of Taylor.

"She does know you are taken, right?"

"Oh I'm well aware he's taken." Loki beamed at her, "I just can't keep my paws off of a fine-looking woman." The wink that followed caused the woman to blush and he wondered for a moment just how much he actually _could_ get away with in this house before he was kicked out.

"Remind me where you found this one?"

"Vintage Stock. Another Whovian. She's just here for a couple days, I promise." Right. A couple days. That was all it would take to uncover whatever had happened to him. Phoenix was either lying, or an optimist.

"Well she's pretty." The mom conceded. "Sit, eat." She gestured with a spoon and he smiled widely at her before settling into the table. For a moment he wondered how much he could eat physically without making himself sick. Probably not the best thing to test.

"So, what's your name?" He eyed Taylor's moment for a long moment, Phoenix hitting him in the back of the head not-so-subtly as he joined his side.

"You can call me Mrs. Ramirez."

"Well _Mrs_. Ramirez. Your daughter is a lifesaver. Thought I'd be sleeping in a ditch after my brother left me here."

"That's horrible." _Mrs. Ramirez_ frowned, looked at him long and hard. "You have no other way of going home?"

"Not until my boyfriend gets paid on Monday. I kinda sunk all my cash into the last gas stop and my wallet was in the seat when he took off. Taylor told me two days, I'll figure the rest out." He was lying his ass off but it was a secondary nature to him. The lie flowed easier than breathing so he wasn't too worried about how convincing his show was. Besides, if this woman kicked him out he knew for a fact that Phoenix wouldn't leave him on the street.

He was set.

"Well that won't do. As long as you don't have any funny business planned you're welcome to stay here until you can get back on your feet." Just like that.

He cast an uneasy look at the woman anyways, "Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"We have a full house. If you try to rob us blind, though… I know people."

"I would never take advantage of any of you." He held up his hand in a placating gesture, ignoring the small snort that came from Phoenix. Yeah, he was absolutely taking advantage of them, but she didn't need to know that.

"If my daughter doesn't mind you using her futon for a week, then yes. You are welcome to stay. Only a week, though." So she didn't know he had stayed in her bed? What was that about? "And you can't spend the whole day locked up down there." She pointed a wooden spoon at him warningly. "I don't like couch potatoes."

He was tempted to call her out on that since there was at least two people in the adjoining living room very clearly playing video games. The only thing that stopped him was basic knowledge of people. It was her nice way of saying she didn't want _him_ hanging out in her house all day.

He could work with that, anyways.

"Well thank you, ma'am."

"Of course." He turned his attention from her and grabbed a few bacon slices, a pancake, and a couple spoonfuls of eggs.

All of which he promptly dumped copious amounts of syrup onto.

"That is bisgusting." A very young voice broke through the silence as Phoenix grabbed his own plate of bacon. Hadn't he-she _whatever_ already eaten?

"Is it now?" He asked, looking over and eyeing a young Hispanic girl no older than four who was staring at his food. Her nose was scrunched and he was reminded fleetingly of Hela when she was young and not the dangerous Goddess of death she had become.

"Yes." The girl looked at him with a determined look as he grabbed a piece of bacon and shoved it into his mouth, watching her with a very serious look as he crunched down the syrup soaked meat.

"Bubba, can I try some?" The little girl looked over at Phoenix and he grinned, looking over at her "bubba" as he glowered back.

"Mom?"

"Just one. I don't want her full of sugar." The older woman sounded resigned and maybe a bit annoyed as he went back to eating, savoring in the sweet of the syrup. It wasn't near on the level of what he was used to but considering he didn't know his body's limits, it was the safest approach to the situation.

Not twenty seconds later the little girl was squealing, making noises and running over to hug his side. "It is good! You were right!"

"I usually am." He patted her back awkwardly, as he spoke around the mouthful of eggy syrup.

"Wha's your name?" Maybe he'd been wrong before. She was probably younger, though human aging was a little unclear in his mind.

"Logi." He wiped at his mouth with the back of his free hand, staring down at a head of black hair.

"Loki." She parroted back poorly, "Like the superhero!" The girl's eyes twinkled, even as he felt a twinge of annoyance. Either this little girl read comics -which he seriously doubted- or they had finally been adopted by the mega cooperations for movies.

Man, he wished he could've been there for that filming, pulled some of his own justifiable pranks on poor renditions of his family. They had _no idea_.

"It's- whatever, fine." One little kid mispronouncing his fake name wasn't going to kill him. Probably.

"Loki! Loki Loki!" She tried to grab his arm and he carefully peeled himself out of it. Pouting, she stared at him with big sad eyes that reminded him vaguely of a hazel eyed Winchester. May Odin help him.

"What is it, you little thing?"

"I wanna show you my Loki!"

"Hey, Daniela? Lo is trying to eat. Why don't you let her eat and bring the Loki doll back in here?" Phoenix suggested from behind him. The puppy eyes brightened with excitement and she pattered out of the room as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Is this the time where you run away screaming?"

"I've got kids." He shrugged, turning back to his food and taking a bite. "You should've seen Fen and Jöry when they were little." A glance at the mother confirmed she hadn't connected his false identity to his children's names. In fact, she was focused on cleaning dishes and for the most part ignoring them. "Those two were mean. I've been a lot of things in my life, but a parent? It was the one thing I prided myself in. Handling my kids was a nightmare. Hela, though? She was the opposite. Hela was always curious, always into things, but it was never with nefarious intentions. Hela was… she was good."

"Sounds like you miss them." Phoenix watched him and he looked away.

"I failed them. Even if I miss them, they don't want to see me."

"To be fair-"

"Don't start in on it, geek boy. I know what you think, and I know what actually happened." Phoenix looked at him, long and hard, before nodding and looking away.

"Alright. So, before the little one gets back… you want to take off?"

"Where?" He looked back at the hallway.

"Local library will be a good starter for research. They also have computers so you can email Carver." He nodded at the suggestion, clearing his plate and vacating the table quickly.

He needed a moment to himself, to think.


	8. 8 - Coyote

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

Coyote grunted as she helped heave a sled covered in wood across the heavy snow. She was exhausted. Physical labor was definitely not one of her strengths considering in her past it had never been necessary. It left her tired and she was grateful that whatever had left her had given her a body strong enough to help her companion. If she had been given her own body… it would not have been a favor. Not that it answered the continuous question of how they had ended up in that position to begin with. Whatever it was, it involved an angel and she didn't like that prospect in the least. Angels… they were a nuisance. Constantly causing problems that didn't need to exist.

"Not far, boy-girl." Her companion laughed throatily, a howl rippling across the landscape and making her tense. "They won't hurt us. Their territory is that way."

"How sure are you about that?" She asked him, "I don't know much about normal animal behaviors."

"If they come for us, we won't know it." The man smiled at her, all teeth. "I thought you were the coyote God."

"I am." She responded as she spotted the distant cabin, breathing deeply at the sight. It was a fair distance but it wouldn't take long. All she could hope was that this was the end if their day work. She wanted to curl up by the fire until she was sweating and toasty warm. "Animals behave differently around me. Seeing as I am currently human…"

"You would rather not take the risk. Well trust that I have lived out here for six years and those wolves have only been a problem once."

"Okay." And she did trust him. It wasn't an accident that she landed here. Whatever it was that had happened, it hadn't been with malicious intents. If it had been, she wouldn't have landed where she did. There also wouldn't be the dream that he'd had. Angels weren't supposed to mess with the Pagans. It was an unspoken rule. Why were angels involving themselves with her? Who else had been a victim?

The idea of angels messing with Huehuecoyotl or Crow made her sick to her stomach. They were the ones who were supposed to go after unsuspecting victims, not the other way around.

This would be a long week.

The walk was comfortably quiet and it gave her a lot of time to think. It was the good thing about Trem. The silence worked for him. Most of their work had been done in silence except when he'd stopped her to watch a moose family pass by. It was a serene silence that she'd really needed to collect her thoughts.

There wasn't a lot that she could do from the secluded Alaskan wilderness except wait, think over memories, and dwell on what everything meant.

Most importantly it allowed her to speculate. While it wasn't likely, she had to wonder if she was dead. Was it possible that this was her afterlife? Punishment for some crime she had committed. When she'd shared the thought Trem had laughed at her but she wasn't completely sure it wasn't possible.

The human afterlives had always been filled with their ancestors, the cruel ones had been punished accordingly and the good ones had been rewarded. It was completely possible that she had been killed, but if she was…

Where did a Trickster go when they died? A God in general? The idea of being an immortal was a dream but she had never been naïve to her own mortality. Especially when her and the others had always danced around death, toyed with hunters.

If she was dead, what was the reason for this? Was it a punishment, or a reward? No, as much as she wanted to believe she was in fact dead, logic and reason pointed to the fact that she was alive.

Which led her back in the circle that she'd started with. _Why?_ The oldest question in existence, the first ever asked. _Why_?

Why was she there? Why human? Was this a trick? Crow or Coyo playing with her? If they were she was far from amused.

_Crow. Coyo. Where are you? If this is a trick it is far from funny._

If she had been alone, she may have wept at the silence received in response. Instead she remained silent, because she was a God in the presence of a human and needed to play the part of strong, powerful being. Right now she couldn't afford weakness. Not when she was at her weakest.

"You're deep in thought, girl-boy. Is everything okay?" The sound of Trem's voice jarred her, caused her to jump slightly and nearly lose her grip on the rope in her hand.

"I- I'm just trying to understand my situation."

"You should leave understanding for a time you can do it. There are no answers here. Just cold and scarce wildlife."

"I'm a God." The words felt forced, the burrowing knowledge that she was far from just a God nagging at the corner of her mind because… well, she was human now. Now until she learned what had brought her into this position to begin with.

"You freeze and bleed the same as me. Maybe you are Coyote God but right now you are human man. When I came here I left behind who I was before. For the time, I recommend the same for you."

Coyote's gaze flicked to him before she looked back at the ever-closer cabin, the place of heat and warmth. "What if I can't? I have lifetimes of history. I have friends out there, close… close friends. Friends I adore and love as dear as my own life. Friends that may be dead."

"It will be a week, God-girl. Would you spend it stressing something you cannot solve here, or would you spend it enjoying what you have for the time? I can't make you do anything, but dwelling will solve nothing in your life. For this week. What do you have to lose?"

_Everything_.

Except, in the new world what _was_ there to expect? The world that Trem had spoken to her about was unfamiliar, a whole new land, and was she truly ready to go into it?

Did she have a reason to?

Those were the thoughts that haunted her as they arrived at the cabin and began to unload the wood stacks. Those thoughts and many others.

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

"How did you become Coyote?" Trem asked sometime later while they sat beside the fire. He was watching her with a speculative look, considerate and analytical.

"I just… was." There was a niggling thought at the back of her mind, a whisper that there was more to the story than that. It had always been like that… hadn't it? "There is no dramatic tale of my creation. One moment, I wasn't, and then I was."

"No shining lights?"

Coyote smiled coyly. "Maybe a few. I remember a bright white light, brighter than the suns and moons. It was pure, beautiful… And I was. I had no mother nor father, just me. I could have been anything."

"And you became a God."

"I could have remained a beast." Pressing a bit closer to the heat, she drug her knees to her chest. "Coyote is far from simply a name. Coyote is what I was. I could have remained an eternal beast, but I didn't. Unlike some of the others, I was found."

"Found?"

"Gods are hollow shells when created." Coyote answered, breathed deeply, "With the right conditions, the right magic, we become more. Crow made sure that I received the same magic that created him. That is how I became a Trickster."

"What would have happened if you hadn't taken that power?"

"Have you ever heard of a daemon- not to be confused with the black-eyed monsters created from the Christian Hell?"

"I've heard the term demon as a… fallen angel."

"Those aren't actual demons either." Laughing softly, she tugged her knees to her chest and breathed deeply. "A daemon- I'll pronounce it with the necessary a to clarify. They are hollow shells of Gods. At creation we are nothing except the energies we draw in. Sometimes we don't draw anything, and it leaves us in a deprecated state. Crow was fortunate to have arrived near a Trickster energy, I wasn't. I was on the path to becoming a daemon, a creature without purpose, a true monster of the monster world."

"You didn't, though."

"Crow saved me." Coyote closed her eyes, "Made me who I am."

"The way you talk… did you love him?"

"Not in the way you are implying." Coyote responded, honest, pressing her lips together. "There were no words to describe my status, but I was simply… uninterested in those things. Crow was a… well I suppose to word could be… brother? Father? Those words are so… simple. I don't think there's a human word to describe what he was to me. I did love him, though. In a simple term… I loved him in a way that only a God can truly comprehend. It was never about the comradery or pranks. It was about the state of simply _being_. I could run beside him for days, weeks, years. It didn't matter. Not a word ever had to be spoken between us and we knew what was said." Flicking her eyes open, she glanced over to see Trem watching her silently, empathetically. As though he could truly comprehend the things she had gone through.

It wasn't in her to correct him.

"When I woke in the snow, his name was the first on my lips. Him, Coyo, and… Anansi." The four of them had been close, four Tricksters that ran and taunted and teased together. Playmates of the worst and best kinds. What she'd told Trem had been true, and yet it was a truth coated in the thinnest of lies. There was much blood on her hands, blood that may have been drawn by her allies but still caused by her. So much blood she could never truly count the bodies, and on some level… she didn't care enough to do so. Her empathy only ran so deep and no blood was spilt unless earned. It wasn't a lifestyle choice or a routine, it was a rule. Bound in blood and magic.

Except, in that moment, she was neither of those things. If she so chose to, she could murder this man, kill him in cold blood, and it would be of her own volition.

"I sat here and wondered last night, just for a short while, if you were not Crow."

"Really?" The human man asked, raised an eyebrow sounding more amused than anything.

"Yes."

"What changed your mind?"

Coyote's gaze flicked over, followed the long beard, the pale skin and deep brown eyes. Rough flesh that she knew well enough from their brief contact. Flesh she knew Anansi would have dug his fingers into.

"Your eyes." Coyote responded softly, head tilting to the side with a small smile as she rested it on her knee. "Our eyes are more than just a color, a shade that comes from our body or genetics. They're embodiments of our very soul."

"You said Gods don't have souls."

"I said daemons consume souls." She countered, "Our magic imbues us with a soul. After we have had it for a time. Then it's all about our eyes." She tugged off her glove careful as she held up two lightly callused fingers, pressed the tips just below her eyes. "Brown. A soft shade, looks different under different light." When an impressed Trem nodded she grinned a bit, tugging her glove back on. "Your eyes are deep brown. Almost muddy. Crow's are such a vibrant amber they are almost orange. Even when he was a crow he had those eyes." Pausing, a wave of grief twisting in her stomach. "You haven't seen something like that, have you?"

"No." Trem responded and she closed her eyes. It was a pipe dream anyways. If it had been as long as it sounded… Crow was probably dead. Just like she had been. Just like… well, nothing could ever change that. The wound was fresh, as though it had happened the day before.

"I also had Huehuecoyotl and Anansi with me at one point. The four of us enjoyed going out together, causing conflict and chaos where we could."

"Four Trickster Gods together? Knowing the little I know says that would have been messy."

"A lot of messes. The justified kind, though. I've told you before, we only went after those that deserved it."

"I believe you." Something told her that even if she hadn't been justified in her killings, this man wouldn't have judged her. Even with the way he was making her work, he was doing it for self-preservation. His habitat wasn't made for a secondary party. Even if she was a God, he needed her help to make sure they didn't freeze and starve together. At his roots, Trem was a good man. He even accepted her status as a God. He wasn't judging her by human standards, even if he had teased her about it a couple times over the day.

This was a good man. So, why was he out here?

"Coyote. Are you listening?"

"Of course." She lied with a cheeky smile, earning an eyeroll in response. "You were just about to explain to me why you choose to live among the wolves rather than human society."

"Human society is complex." She frowned at the tightness of his jaw, the way he looked away from her. Tense, unhappy. _Whoops_. "It's easier out here."

"You don't have to talk about it, Trem." She told him quietly, the human fixating his gaze in the fire. "Done talking for the night?"

"Yes." His tone was on the rough side of bitter as he fixated on the source of their warmth. The heat that was keeping her hopeful. What would she do when it ran out?


	9. 9 - Gabriel

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

"You still with us?" Gabriel's gaze flicked over to Dean who had a burger shoved in his mouth, Sam's question barely registering in his brain.

"Gabriel." Blinking, he glanced at Castiel who was looking at him with concern. "You are distracted."

"There is a lot to process. Heaven is being run by… Hannael-"

"She goes by Hannah." Sam supplied unhelpfully.

"And Hell is being run by the once King of The Crossroads. He has kidnapped Kevin Tran. How do you know all of this again?"

"Inias."

"I thought they were all dead." Gabriel thought of the litter of angels he had taken to him lifetimes ago. One of the underlings to Anael's garrison

"So did I." Castiel frowned, shifted slightly next to him. "Inias is alive?"

"Yeah," Sam leaned back a bit, "He's with Eileen."

"Eileen?" It was Dean's turn to sound confused. Which didn't sound right. Sam and Dean had been joined at the hip for a long time. Gabriel knew enough to know that meeting new people wasn't something either took to- not even after death.

"She's a hunter I met," Sam responded and a smile broke across Dean's face.

"Really?"

"It's not like that."

"Right." Dean snorted and Sam glared.

"Guys and girls can be friends, Dean. What are you? Twelve."

"I didn't say there was anything else goin' on!"

"No, but that looks says more than enough. We're friends, Dean and I'm not interested."

"Fine, fine. I'm just saying-"

"So, Gabriel." Sam drew his attention from the strange exchange. "What exactly are your plans?"

"To stay with… well the three of you." Gabriel responded, feeling uncertain as he looked back at Dean who nodded subtly in agreement.

"Which I need to understand. What's going on with you three? I need details, Dean."

"Purgatory." Dean's voice fell a bit and Gabriel grimaced at the memory of being torn apart by leviathans.

"It was… brutal." Castiel added.

"When they found me, I was quite literally torn in half. Leviathans had eaten half of me, ripped one of my wings off." The memory was brutal, violent and bloody and caused phantom limbs to ache painfully. "As he should have, Castiel wanted to leave me."

"Why-"

"I was a liability down there. It was the smart choice. Dean, though? Dean saved me. After all I have put you both through, your brother saved my life."

"So, what? You owe him?"

"No." Gabriel looked out the window as thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance. "If I owed him anything, it would be well paid in due by now."

"Purgatory changes you," Castiel took over and Dean made a noise of agreement. "I fought Dean on saving Gabriel, on saving my _brother_, because he was a liability. Dean didn't hesitate though."

"It wasn't out of the kindness of my heart. He was a valuable weapon. He'd already said he'd help when he recovered. Didn't mention it'd take a week."

"It wasn't particularly advantageous at the time."

"So basically in there you were all… soldiers. Calculating the risk and reward of saving and killing."

"Simply put, yes."

"I was a threat to bring, so it wasn't all done out of selfishness. But at full strength I was valuable. I could kill everything but the leviathans with a snap of my fingers."

"That doesn't explain why you're staying.

Gabriel hesitated, lifted his gaze to meet hazel. "Do you want me to leave, Sam?"

"Would you go if I told you to?" The hunter challenged in response and Gabriel felt himself smile.

"No. I don't care if _you_ want me around or not. What matters is the opinions of my brothers."

"Brothers." Sam repeated the word, mouth falling open a bit as the realization dawned on his face. "You aren't talking about the angels."

"Castiel and Dean are brothers to me, Sam. What we went through in Purgatory? It created a bond that I have no intention of letting dissipate just because you don't trust me. The fact is, Castiel and Dean are my brothers. If you don't like it, that is your issue."

"Dean- can I talk to you?"

"It's a mutual thing. Kind of a weird comradery side-effect." Dean was casual as he followed his brother out of the booth and towards the door. Which left him alone with Castiel who moved to the other side of the table, picking absently at the food left on Dean's plate.

"You called me your brother."

"Yes." Gabriel watched the blue eyed Seraph as he stared at the food. "Castiel?"

"It's… different. Coming from you, in this state. As… yourself."

"Whoever I am now, it is not all of me, Castiel. But either way, you're my brother. You're one of mine, have been since you hatched." Castiel lifted his head, met the gaze of his elder brother and Gabriel felt a pang of guilt, shame clouding him. "I ran away because I couldn't choose a side, Castiel. I left you all. But never take that as me forgetting what you all were too me. You were all my brothers and sisters- in fact, there was a time where you _were_ my sister."

"That was before the war."

"I wasn't present for the change. Imagine my surprise when you arrived, as a male."

"Imagine my confusion when you were parading as a Trickster."

"I can." And he could. If he thought about seeing any of his brothers masquerading as a Trickster, he could imagine the confusion easily. The confusion and the shock. An angel becoming a pagan was one thing, but a Trickster was something else. All of the gods were built from primordial magic, but none was more volatile than a Trickster's. An angel willingly taking that on? Taking the risk that the magic didn't rip their grace up? It was shocking. Yet, he had done it. Apparently. Though, he didn't really remember it. "You have changed. Not just recently, but since you hatched."

"You told me that in Purgatory." Gabriel hummed a bit in response, tilted his head.

"Did I?"

"Yes."

"Purgatory isn't as clear as it would be. It was probably Loki that told you that."

"I don't know how to feel about that." Castiel responded, a thread of vulnerability in his expression. "Does it worry you that you've split apart?"

"No." Leaning back, he looked out the window, stared at the mostly empty parking lot where Sam and Dean were leaning against the Impala, talking to each other. There was a bit of frustration in Sam's expression and Gabriel couldn't see what Dean's looked like but based off of his posture… annoyed. Dean was annoyed. What were they talking about?

"It's about you, Gabriel." Castiel told him and he flinched, looked back at his brother. "You tortured him."

"I know." Though the details of the how were gone to him. Which meant it was a Trickster's torture and… well, that wasn't exactly something he would wish on someone. "I don't remember it, though."

"Just because you don't remember it, it doesn't mean he isn't still scarred by it." Gabriel could remember a time when Castiel never would have made that connection, it was something he had barely comprehended on his own. Well… maybe a lingering effect from his time as a Pagan, though could Pagans empathize with humans? If they could, would this Loki persona be capable of such a thing? It was disconcerting.

"Castiel, how bad was I? As Loki. What did I do to the three of you?"

Castiel hesitated, turned his head. "You locked Sam and Dean in TV Land. While there… you attacked me, trapped me in a world with feral rabbits that tried to eat me."

There was a moment of silence between the two brothers where he simply stared. A world… of feral rabbits. That was… well, it was insane. The events of that incident were mostly absent excluding an argument with Dean and… well, the Hunters discovering him. That part was a sore spot. It was like a book missing many pages, though. There were gaps that he knew were important, things he didn't remember.

What he _did_ know was that he owed apologies to people. The number wasn't something he was sure about, but he could start here. With Castiel, with the brothers. Dean wouldn't listen, but it was a principle concept. He was the Archangel of justice, after all.

"Castiel-"

"Don't."

"Let me," Gabriel responded, "I'm sorry. Castiel, I am sorry. I remember the things I said. I was harsh."

"You were angry."

"I should have stayed, I should have helped. I shouldn't have run that day. The things that followed… I could have changed the outcome. I could have dealt with Lucifer properly, instead I let him kill me. Instead…"

"You let him kill you?" The moment was broken, Gabriel's gaze darting up to see Sam's horror-stricken expression alongside Dean's angry one. He hadn't realized they had come back inside. Human senses were so... limited.

"I couldn't have killed him in that scenario."

"So, what? You sent us on our merry little way and sacrificed yourself like some sort of cannon fodder?"

"There was no other option, Sam." The Hunter didn't look in the least bit convinced. But there hadn't been. If they'd moved faster, it would have been different, but they'd been out of time the moment Lucifer appeared. "I couldn't kill him. If we'd fought? The fallout would've been devastating."

"So… two archangels duking it out is the same either way?" Dean supplied and Gabriel nodded.

"You didn't have to stay-"

"I did, though. If I hadn't, Lucifer would have killed Dean and taken you. It would have crippled Michael and Lucifer would have won. I could have lived, but what kind of life would it have been for me if Lucifer won?"

"You know… we always thought you did it out of cowardice." Dean admitted and Gabriel scoffed, shook his head.

"You did it for the planet."

"Sort of." Gabriel responded, rose to his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Can I talk to you, Sam? Alone?"

"Um… yeah, sure." There was a wariness to the agreement that made him flinch internally. Sam still didn't trust him, and while his new brothers would trust the request without much of a thought… he understood why. Sam Winchester wasn't his brother. Sam Winchester was one of his victims. A victim of crimes he didn't remember, but one that needed amendments. Dean would brush it off, because that was who he was. If there was anything he knew about the younger brother, though, it was that he needed things repaired.

So, together, they made their way out of the diner and Gabriel took a shallow breath as he tugged the hunter towards the small park next to the diner. It was empty, the sky cloudy and threatening rain.

"You don't have to do this." Sam told him quietly as he sat on one of the benches, rested his elbows on his knees and tilted his head to watch the hunter warily seat himself next to him.

"I don't," Gabriel agreed. "Sam, I don't know what I did to you. I don't remember any of the gruesome details. Wherever my Loki persona is… that is where those memories rest. It doesn't justify my actions, though."

"You sound wrong." Sam told him and he nodded. "There was no serious with you. Not until we learned who you were. But even after that… there was a lightness. You played with us."

"I _was_ a Trickster. There is more to a Trickster than simply being a Pagan. God magic is sentient, and Trickster is sentient. There were likely times where my behavior was heavily influenced by the magic."

"So, if Loki _is_ out there… he's as dangerous as Loki can be."

"In theory." Gabriel agreed, "But you're avoiding my apology."

"It's because I don't think I _can_ accept your apology. Gabriel, you aren't who you were then. And I understand that but… it's an empty apology when you don't _know_ what you did."

"Then tell me what I did. I need to know, Sam."

There was a long moment of silence between them before Sam looked at him. "Two hundred and forty six Tuesdays. Groundhog Day, but worse. Dean can't play Heat of The Moment without me having a panic attack because that damned song _haunts_ me. You tried to teach me a lesson and what I went through then is worse than anything that Lucifer could've ever done to me."

"How long was it, Sam?"

"Six months, Gabriel. You forced me to go through six months thinking he was suffering in Hell, and you may have had good intentions but you did it in every possible _wrong_ way."

"Six months."

"Then TV Land. It was a month. A month of television. Acting out some of the worst shows in the TV universe. The only things Dean would watch for the longest time was the news. It was… God you were an ass, you know. Then you went and saved us which I still don't know _why_."

Gabriel closed his eyes, bit back the apology that threatened to bubble from him. Sam was right. He had no right to apologize for what he'd done because he didn't remember it. If he was going to, he _had_ to do it with all of himself present only… he wasn't sure that his other portion merging would leave him capable of doing it. Could a him with his Loki aspects apologize? Or, at the very least, apologize and mean it?

"I don't hate you. I know you think I do, and I have every right in the world to but… well, I don't. You saved us. You saved us and you saved Dean in Purgatory. He explained it to me. Well, the general gist. You care about them."

"They're my brothers now and… Sam, I know you don't want to believe it but I _do_ care about family. I care strongly for them. It was _why_ I left. I couldn't choose a side because I loved them too much."

"I believe you. About family." Sam clarified and he looked over to see the hunter looking at the playground. "But I guess I have to ask. If Dean and Cas are your brothers. What's that make me?"

"I could lie, but I won't." Gabriel breathed out, leaned back and looked at the sky. "It makes you a complication, but you're safe. I swear to you that as long as I'm around. I will protect you just as much as I would them. Because they're my brothers, and you're their brother."

"Thanks." Sam responded with a chuckle, shaking his head. "I don't think you're in any shape to protect us though. You can't snap your fingers and better the world this time."

Gabriel snorted and Sam shot him a look of surprise. "You think I can't fight? I'm an angel, Sam. I may have been a messenger, but I'm also a warrior."

"Close range combat for mortals is different than it is for angels. You get stabbed in the leg, you're not getting back up. Not without a whole lot of adrenaline running through you."

"I guess you're right." Gabriel conceded, gaze flicking over to the younger hunter, "Maybe you could teach me?"

"Teach you what exactly?"

"Whatever I'll need to help you guys fight. I guess hunting's where Dean'll want to go. Then you've got that woman… Eileen? Who is she exactly?"

"A hunter." Sam answered, "I met her on a banshee hunt."

"Impressive."

"She saved my life," Sam admitted. "I would've died if she hadn't shown up like the hero she was. We were actually working together to hunt down Kevin."

"Kevin Tran, right?"

"Yeah."

"I… might be able to help with that." Gabriel admitted and Sam gave him a hopeful look. "I was the Archangel assigned to hunting down, watching over the prophets. Back in the day. I never exactly _stopped_. I just dulled it down."

"But you don't have your powers?"

"You can use a tracking spell as a human. Supply it with a bit of my angel juice and it'll bypass any basic anti-tracking wards."

"But you're human," Sam countered and he grinned, rolled his shoulders a bit.

"I am. Sort of. My powers are barred and Castiel is worried that any attempt to force the issue will cause irreparable damage. Which is why I didn't tell him to do it, they are _very_ valid concerns. Especially considering the fact that I was a Trickster."

"You're not clarifying anything, you know."

"I hid parts of my Grace all over the planet. I can't guarantee that they're all still where they once were, but there are probably some out there."

"So, you'd throw away your grace to find a prophet?"

"Whatever it is that's blocking my powers, it's not very likely that it will be solved by taking Grace from an outside source. But, I do plan on trying. You won't need a lot of my Grace for the tracking spell."

"So it works out both ways."

"Yes."

"Alright." Sam responded. "Then let's do this. But there's something else first."

"What about?"

"The hunt I was working on when Dean called." Gabriel frowned, looked over at the hunter again. "Do you know anything that can take souls?"

"No." Gabriel responded with a frown, "Something is taking souls?"

"It's the best guess." Sam responded, "The way people are acting… it was a lot like I was without my soul."

"You lost your soul?" Gabriel stared and the hunter laughed softly, smiled grimly.

"I guess we have a lot to tell you."

"That's an understatement. But… let's do it in the car."

"Alright." Gabriel agreed as they both got to their feet, making their way to the Impala.


	10. 10 - Loki

**Warning: This chapter contains a homophobic slur.**

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

"What is smut?" The question broke through the silence of the library and Taylor smacked him in the back of the head without ever looking at his screen. He cast a grin towards her as Phoenix peeked over at his screen.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I'm curious what you humans have written about the real me."

"He wants to feed his ego." Taylor muttered from her seat as Phoenix snagged the keyboard and shifted the search query around a bit.

"There. This is everything-"

"Why the Hel am I being matched with Sam Winchester?" Loki interrupted, staring at the disturbing amount of _Sam Winchester/The Trickster_ on his screen. "You do understand I tortured him, correct? _Countless_ times."

"Fans are weird." Phoenix responded, a bit too loud and earning a bitter "sh" from someone around them. Possibly Taylor.

"Where is your writing?"

"You remember that?" Loki grinned at the annoyed look on the human's face. Like he would forget the conversation between the two from his kidnapping.

"Of course I do. I'm curious. How does the great Phoenix represent me in his writing?"

There was a soft snicker from next to him as Phoenix hesitated then typed a name into the search tag. _TrixAreForTricksters_.

"Really?"

"Shut up."

Loki's gaze scanned across the page, leaving him sorely disappointed when he found it mostly tame. "This isn't yours."

"Of course not." Phoenix confirmed with a grin, "We're supposed to be working, Logi. Not reading porn about you. I'll show you the whole thing later."

Muttering an annoyed agreement, Loki went to flicking through pages about the news over the last few years. Conspiracy theory articles were significantly more informing than any of the major news outlets, information spread far and wide. When he searched both Sam and Dean Winchester he was met with major news articles about a serial killing as well as both of their deaths. Though, a bit more digging into Dean confirmed that he'd died in a similar scenario the year before they met. It was possible that they were alive, though unlikely. Hunters always died.

"I don't understand how more of you fans don't find out this is real," Loki murmured, shook his head. "This is about as low profile as a rat hoard to the face."

"The last names aren't in the books." Phoenix informed him, "They're just Sam and Dean."

"These events are near _identical_." Rolling his eyes, Loki closed the articles and shifted his search to his own lore. "This is why we don't like humans."

"Again. You're human for now. Maybe rather than bashing and hating on us you should acknowledge that-"

"I could have this conversation with you many times, Phoenix. You aren't the first and I'm certain you won't be the last. But I will be blunt in saying, you will change nothing. The situation is as it is and in all my time on Earth, _nothing_ has altered that."

If the human wanted to say more, he didn't. Instead he returned to his own screen and Loki continued to cycle through information. Library computers apparently only had an hour on them here and in that hour he effectively learned nothing. Well, nothing except the fact that the humans knew nothing about Tricksters. When the clock shut down, he got to his feet and made his way through the library to grab a few lore books. Lore regarding gods and mythology, a couple that specifically targeted Tricksters.

The problem was how bored he was. It was a constant niggling itch under his skin that the time alone with his thoughts was reminding him _move, do something_. Except what would he do? What _could_ he do?

"Hello." Loki's head turned to see a man standing near him. He was decent to look at. Tall and likely well built beneath the outfit he was wearing. Definitely nothing like his new companion and he was tempted to snag himself another meal.

What? He was bored.

"Hey." He tilted his head, shifted his focus completely from the books. Tanned, semi-long brown hair. Probably early twenties. Maybe late. _Mmm._ "What's up, tall long and handsome?"

He's treated with a smirk in response, "Mind if I take that book?" Tall boy asked and Loki humored him, dropped his feet from where they'd been probably rudely perched on a pile of books that had been left on the table between the two loveseats in the corner.

"These yours?"

"My cousin's." Tall responded, lifted the book up as Loki shifted, tilted his head up to eye his new acquaintance.

"Lucky your cousin. If I hadn't been here, our good friend the librarian would have collected them." Bullcrap meter was definitely shrieking somewhere in the distance. Then again. It wasn't just going off from his words.

"I'm sure she would have. So, I have to say… never seen you around before. You new in town?"

"Just around for a week," He responded, stretched back out to prop his legs up on the table. "So, what's your name?"

"Logi Ohlsen." Loki slipped into a Norwegian accent, grinning at the surprised look on the other's face. It wasn't likely that he'd recognize the accent anyways, which may have been a bit dated. If it wasn't… well, it didn't matter too much.

"Where are you from?"

"Family hails from the cold land of Norway." Loki continued, "So, what's your story?"

"Name's Chad," He responded, took a seat in the chair at an angle from him, "Plain and boring. Born and raised here."

"Hey, it's not so bad."

With a snort, Chad raised a brow. "Right."

"Okay I'm full of it." He shrugged, "It is what it is though and you don't gotta stay."

"Gotta admit, didn't expect that."

"Neither did I," With a wide smile, "You got anything going on tonight? I'm only here for the week."

"Actually-"

"You're done." The sudden weight of a book in his lap scared him so bad he almost shouted as he whipped around, shooting a violent glare at Phoenix who was completely ignoring him to glower at Chad.

"Hey, bro."

"Bro?" Loki couldn't read Phoenix's expression for anything except hostility when the question slipped from his lips.

"I thought you were in California."

"I was." Chad responded with a lick of disdain in his tone. "Is this another one of your dyke friends?" Something twisted violently in Loki as he whipped his head around.

"What did you just call me?"

"Lo-"

The nice guy demeanor that Chad had been radiating since his arrival dissipated as a disgusted smile crossed his expression. "I called you a-"

Loki didn't let the statement complete as he grabbed one of the heaviest books off his lap, swung onto his feet in a movement that was only possible for him because of years of training with Thor.

The book he swung across the jaw- spine connecting firmly across his cheek. There was a moment of silence as Loki felt an almost familiar rush before it dissipated and he was grabbed by the arm.

Every instinct screamed for him to go after the man and the only thing that stopped him was the surprisingly strong arms of Phoenix. Taylor appeared between them, shoved back against Chad as he moved to chase them out the door. Shouts resounded around them, something about the police.

Then he was being shoved into the back of a truck, Phoenix pale as he slammed the door and clicked the lock shut.

"What was that!" He demanded as he came around from the passenger seat, glared back at Loki who was burning with anger.

"That's your _brother_?" Loki demanded, completely disregarding the question as he looked towards the front door where Taylor and Chad were being ushered out by a very angry librarian.

"By blood. What the hell were you thinking, Lo!"

"I was thinking that he's an arrogant dickbag that needed to be kicked down a peg. What's your problem? Are you seriously-"

"I'm not going to defend him," There was a long moment where Phoenix simply stared at him, expression unreadable. Then the door flung open and Taylor was starting the truck with an irritated huff. "So, this is you."

"Yes. This is me. Trickster _God_, or did you forget who you're with? Now let me out of this car so I can beat the ever-living-"

"No. We're going to get out of here before the damned _police_ get here, you dumbass. You can't just poof your way out of trouble now."

"I want to know what the hell's going on. Now."

Phoenix turned around in his seat, didn't say a word.

"No? No answer? Since you seem to be forgetting, I deal with assholes for a living. It's what I do but that look on your face… that was horror."

"It doesn't _matter_. Loki, he's not going to be some victim for you. Not when you're like this."

"So I can torture him as a God but as a human I'm not allowed?"

"Those are the rules, yes. I can't believe you…" There was a moment where Phoenix trailed off and then they both started laughing. One moment there was a cloud of frustration, the next a fog of happy laughter that came from the two in the front seat.

"Thank you." Phoenix breathed, turned around in his seat as Loki looked away with a scowl.

"I didn't do it for you."

"No. You did it because he's a dick. Trust me. I'm… well I'm annoyed because I'm sure I won't hear the end of whatever story he tells our parents…"

"But what you did… it was something we couldn't have."

"Couldn't or wouldn't? Actually, you know what? I don't care anymore. Let me out of the car."

"What?"

"I'm done. I'm calling my damned daughter. I'll deal with the repercussions of getting involved with the Pagans."

"What the hell?" Phoenix turned in his chair and Loki scowled at him.

"I was cool with this- sort of. But this evasive crap isn't going to work." If he thought about it more, he knew that wasn't true. Relationships built on secrets and lies were _fine_. The problem wasn't any of that.

It was the fact that he could imagine being in a relationship of any kind with a couple of humans. It was way too damned fast. Barely twenty hours. No new relationship started up that quick.

Unless it wasn't new.

_Hel_.

"You said you're soul siblings."

"Yeah?"

Such a minor detail but it explained things a lot more. It wasn't some coincidence he'd shown up on their doorstep.

They might not remember it, but he knew now. Which begged the big fat question, yet again, of _why_ was he there? Why had this happened?

If he were to guess, these two didn't know a thing. All they knew was the basics of whatever humans knew about their position. Soul siblings. Two souls connected from the moment of birth.

"Maybe you're not as useless as I thought." He huffed, looked out the window and wondered why his once companions would subject themselves to this position. "What's the deal with your blood? Don't give me some crap excuse. I need to know."

"Short version-" Taylor started in,

"My family is... full of homophobic assholes. When I started crossdressing, they stopped feeding me. When I dyed my hair, my father demanded I go back to my natural color or I'd never live with them again. Then I left, moved in with Taylor."

"We took him gladly. My parents are different, if not a bit... out there. They think that me and my dear brother are meant to be, match made in Heaven."

"That's why you didn't want them to know I slept with you?" Loki snorted, the story fitting with the things he'd suspected since the start.

Except the last part.

"They think we're sleeping together." Taylor admitted, "And I'm not super inclined to discourage the idea. It's annoying, but it saves me from them trying to convince me to find a partner."

"What about your girlfriend?" Loki eyed Phoenix who shrugged.

"She's my girlfriend. I love her and she loves me. She knows what I've got with Taylor. Family. Nothing more."

"Mhm. That's why you didn't want me to come meet her?"

"Honestly? I don't want you to try to screw her. I know she wouldn't be super happy about it and it's going to put me in a weird spot if you do."

"So, if I swear to leave your-"

"No." Phoenix turned around, eyed him. "Because I know you won't."

"Why?"

"She's a model," Taylor spoke up, "And Heaven help us she's beautiful. It wouldn't be you if you didn't try."

Suddenly Heat of The Moment came blaring out of nowhere and Phoenix made a sound, shifted around and pulled a phone from his pocket.

"Hey," Pause. "Babe- what, no! They- oh my _God_. Are you serious right now? Damn it! No, I'm sorry. Listen, I'm on my way. I'll get them away. Just- no, I promise it wasn't me and I'll explain everything when I get there. I promise."

"Damn it." Taylor murmured as she took a sudden sharp left, Phoenix making a bitter sound as he threw his phone in the floor and pulled his hair.

"What's wrong?" From the words he'd heard, he could guess. The saint brother had obviously done something stupid. Something that he had no doubt was all 'his' fault.

Naturally.

"My brother sent the police to the house. I didn't- _damn it_."

"So, let's talk to them."

Phoenix gave him a long look, like he didn't believe that Loki could be helpful.

He'd show them.

"You've read my mythology-"

"Which generally consists of you doing something stupid to save your own ass."

"True." Loki looked at Taylor in the mirror who looked back, dark eyes meeting his own. "Trust me?"

"Not at all."

"Good!" The defeat was clear and familiar in her expression. Because he knew who these two were. Old companions from another lifetime. "Let's see if your police force is as malleable as the Jötunn."

"We are so going to prison, Tay. I'm not made for prison."

"You also look hideous in orange." Taylor huffed as they made their way through the town.

For just a moment, Loki could see them.

Apollo, all confidence and paranoia of himself.

Artemis, slightly smug, proud of things that didn't matter. Liar of the century.

It was just familiar enough to keep him from losing whatever sanity he may have had.


	11. 11 - Patience

"_**Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy."**_

_**~ Saadi**_

_The sky was grey, trees full and green. The grass was a milky white that contrasted greatly with the chocolate brown coat of the Eurasian wolf that lay over it, on its back with its tongue lolled out and whiskey shaded eyes watching the small animal across the clearing. _

_Laying on the grass, tired, brown eyes sat nestled on the skull of the coyote. It was small, smaller than the average, but still radiated power, knowledge, and strength. The wolf let out a soft whine as a flicker of energy jumped across the space between them. Then, finally, the bluebird came._

_It was small, about the height of a sixteen ounce can of soda. The feathers were bright, vibrant shade of royal blue that melted to a tangerine orange on the breast, moving to a soft snowy white on the lowest parts of its front. The bluebird's eyes were nothing like a normal beast, eyes echoing the same shade of the other two animals, bright and tinged with a flicker of white light around the edge. _

_The bluebird took its place on a tree, high and away from the two canines as they rose to their feet. _

_The coyote took to its left. The grass began to freeze beneath it as it moved, snow wrapping around it as it moved further and further into a sudden flurry._

_The wolf moved to its right. The ground froze as it moved, cracking and crunching beneath claws and paws. The snow around it was shallower than the coyote, soft and only ankle deep. _

_The bluebird hovered in the middle, floating in a way that no normal bird would be able to. Both canines stalked it, watching it tensely._

_As thought they were waiting for something._

_The bluebird watched them for a moment longer._

_Then, sharp and sudden both canines launched themselves. A sharp sound escaped the bird as it fluttered away, sudden, sharp, quick. Into the trees and gone._

_The hounds backed away from each other, lowered their ears and whined._

_Without another sound, they returned to their sides, lay across from each other._

_**Patience…**_


	12. 12- Gabriel

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

It was dark when the Impala rolled into town. The sky was spotted with stars and the moon was full. There was a single moment where Gabriel allowed his mind to drift at the image. There was a shifted reminder of when God placed it.

_And with this, these will be. And they are. Less than me, but just as important._

_What are they, Father?_

_For I am God, so shall they be gods. They will come. Birthed from faith and desire. Hatred and madness. Some will be good, others not. For that is what they are._

_They are more of your beasts?_

_They are something for my next creation to look towards._

_I do not like them, Father._

_You need not like them, Lucifer. Simply leave them to their devices._

_Come, Lucifer._

_Yes, Lucifer. Go with your brother and leave my gods to be. They look as beasts so they will be no harm for your play._

"Gabe?" Gabriel focused on Dean. The Hunter had opened the back door and left him leaning against the side of the seat. "You were asleep. Motel's paid for."

"Thanks." Gabriel murmured, shook the residual of the memory from his vision and breathed in as he climbed out of the seat.

"Dude, you okay?"

"Not particularly." He muttered, shook his head. "But don't worry. I won't subject you to the conversation. If I need to, I'll talk to Sam or Cas." He offered the Hunter a grin that probably looked as forced as it felt.

"Sounds good. You know Sam doesn't hate you, right?"

"No. He just hates the extension of my personality which is also me. Maybe not now, but assuming I regain my powers that will change."

"Sam… he forgives. A whole lot easier than I do. He'll get over it. Besides, he doesn't? Me, you, Cas? It's important enough that he won't spit on it. You're family, man."

"Thank you." Dean's face was a bit red so he spared him the awkwardness of a continued conversation as he nodded towards the doors. "Which is us?"

"You, me, Cas. Room sixteen. Sam and Eileen are room nineteen." Dean snickered and Gabriel made a noise of agreement before heading towards nineteen. Sam had explained that Eileen was deaf, had been ever since her parents were killed by a banshee.

Upon learning this, both angels had instinctively gone the same thought route, the only difference being his inability to follow through. They could repair her hearing… in theory.

The door opened before he could knock and he was greeted by an excited embrace of a red head who made an excited sound, tugging him to her chest.

Despite the fact that he was taller than her.

"So this is him? The Trickster? In the flesh. I don't know whether to applaud or punch you."

"I-"

"My name's Charlie," The red head continued, pulled away with a grin as she peered past him. "Dean."

"_Charlie?_"

"What's up?" She asked as she squeezed past him, pulled the stunned Dean into a hug.

"What are you doing here?" So Dean had no clue that this… Charlie girl was here?

"Long story. Look, inside conversation. You, get in." Gabriel allowed her to poke and prod them through the doorway with an amused smile.

"I thought you were done with crazy?" Dean more asked than said as he shut the door behind himself. Sam was in the room, having a silent conversation in sign with a dark haired woman he guessed to be Eileen. Castiel wasn't in the room but the bathroom door was closed and the sound of water running was clear in the background. Probably to give them space because the angel absolutely did not need a shower.

"I… was. But I sort of read your gospels and maybe did a couple hunts." The words came out in a bit of an embarrassed babble and Dean groaned.

"We need to burn those books."

"What books?" Gabriel asked with a frown.

"The books Chuck Shurley wrote during the Apocalypse." Sam answered, looking away from Eileen as Charlie plopped onto the mattress.

"You getting into hunting doesn't explain why you're here."

"Freak accident." Sam admitted, relaying Eileen's signs. "I came here with Sam last week, but then you called and he left. I met Charlie at the morgue. Good thing too because she was panicking."

"I was not! Look, real life roleplaying is just… hard."

"Roleplaying?"

Gabriel asked at the same time Dean asked, "like in sex?"

"God you're sheltered- or is that offensive? No, I'm kidding. I know who you are. Like… dungeons and dragons."

Gabriel wasn't any clearer on the matter though he felt like his other aspect would be.

_Loki._

"Gabe's half the man he was, he doesn't remember being the Trickster." Dean explained on his behalf.

"Really?" Charlie eyed him for a moment. "So the things you did… none of it?"

"Afraid not." He admitted, spread his arms apologetically.

"Interesting." Charlie responded, eyeing him a moment longer before returning to her laptop.

"So you were just here. On a hunt. You know that hunting solo is dangerous, right?"

"You've done it." Charlie reminded him.

Dean made an annoyed sound and Sam huffed.

"I really don't know how to feel that you've read our life stories."

"Makes you feel any better, you're the only one that's 'full frontal' as you put it." Charlie grinned at Dean who grimaced.

"Better than Becky." Sam muttered, shuddering slightly and yet again Gabriel was lost from the conversation.

Not that it really surprised him. He was years behind and his memory was severely lacking.

"Becky is real?" Charlie made a face and Sam grimaced.

"Unfortunately."

"Yeah. Before we met you, she dosed Sam with a love potion, nearly sold her soul. They got married." Flinching, Sam peeled his gaze from them.

"That's- what the hell is wrong with her!"

"She's insane." Sam responded.

Charlie's gaze moved to Sam where she settled her gaze for a long moment, considered him. "So, it's cool that you're alive again." Charlie acknowledged him and he shrugged a bit. "Really. You're… well you're an asshole, but you also did try to stop the whole Apocalypse thing. Asshole with good intentions. Though, also super not happy that you tortured Sam."

"Can we changed the subject?" Sam asked, clearing his throat and Gabriel grimaced.

"So Gabriel as in the Archangel?" The woman signed to him and he nodded, approaching her and offering his hand. In another scenario, he would have offered to heal her. Now, he couldn't. "Good to meet you."

"You too." Gabriel responded, making sure to mouth the words so she could read his lips. "You're Sam's friend?"

"Yes."

"So, what's the deal here?" Dean spoke up and Gabriel flipped his gaze to the Hunter. Him and Sam had discussed it a bit.

"Souls."

"What about souls?" The brothers shared an uneasy look.

"People missing their souls." Gabriel clarified for Sam and Dean made a noise.

"So what? Town full of psychopaths?"

"I would've been a sociopath." Sam corrected his brother who rolled his eyes.

"Same difference."

"Psychopaths- whatever it doesn't matter." Sam surrendered, "But I was hoping…"

"You want Cas to do some soul searching?"

"If he still can."

Gabriel made a small noise, wishing he could help them with this. Castiel had to physically probe them for access to their souls. Something that he could do without touching -and ultimately- without pain in his normal state.

"I can." Castiel confirmed from where he was in the bathroom door, hair wet and ever-present trenchcoat resituated. He had _actually_ showered. Why on Earth would he have made that decision? "It won't be pleasant for whoever I do it to, though."

"I know." Sam confirmed, "But we need to know for sure."

Silence fell for a moment and Charlie averted her gaze. At some point Sam had obviously informed her about the pains of soul probing. Which begged the question of how long they'd been here.

Had he really slept that long? Or had Dean just put off going into his brother's room for that long? It seemed… wrong.

"Everything alright between you two?" Charlie beat him to the punch, eyeing the hunters.

"What're you talking about?"

"You seem… off."

"Being dead does that to you." Dean lied easily, much to the displeasure of the woman.

"How long was Purgatory for you, Dean?" Sam pressed instead and Dean looked away, refusing to answer.

"It felt like a hundred years." Castiel supplied and Gabriel swallowed, remembered his own time in Purgatory. They'd been together for fifty of it but… he had spent a lot of time there. More time than he could completely remember.

"A hundred years." Sam repeated.

"We're not going to talk about it."

"Dean-"

"It wasn't Hell. That's all that matters. It was just… fighting. We're not doing the chick flick crap. It doesn't matter."

"Fine." Gabriel saw through that, though. Sam wasn't done talking about it and Gabriel wasn't sure he blamed him. Sooner or later, Dean would break from it. It was only a matter of time.

"I'm going to sleep. Gabe? Cas?"

"Yeah." Gabriel responded without thinking too much as Dean pushed past him and out the door.

"Of course."

"Dean-"

"We'll start fresh in the morning." Gabriel spared a glance at the group before trailing after Dean, Castiel pausing in the doorway as him and Dean made their way towards the second room.

Sleep. Except… he wasn't tired. He had slept on the way there.

There was a moment when they stepped into the room where Dean paused, shrugged off his jacket and set it on the chair. "You and Cas can take the second one."

"What's different, Dean?" Gabriel knew the answer to his question before he ever asked it. The difference was where they were, the reasons behind their actions.

"It's not subzero temperatures anymore, Gabriel. It's weird."

"I'm not complaining, I'm just perplexed."

"You wouldn't be if you were all in one piece."

"No," Gabriel agreed, crossed his arms over his chest as Dean lay down on the bed closer to the door. "I would likely tease you mercilessly. But I'm not Loki."

Dean watched him for a moment, looking as though he had no intentions with changing his mind.

"Angels are nest creatures. If you aren't doing it for yourself, can you do it on our behalf? Please." Rolling his eyes, Dean threw back the edge of his blanket and rolled onto his side. "I'm going to sleep. You can… sleep wherever."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now let me sleep." A small smile crossed his expression as he crossed the room and slunk into the spot next to Dean whose breathing had already evened out. Anyone that didn't know better would assume he was blissfully unaware of his surroundings. Years in Purgatory told Gabriel otherwise. It would be a long time before any of them could rest comfortably again.

It was why Dean needed to talk to his brother.

Dread clouded his mind as he sank into a restless sleep. Brothers at his sides.


	13. 13 - Loki

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

There were three police cars parked outside of the small mansion that they pulled into the driveway of. Loki was almost drooling with longing. Such a better location than Taylor's hellhole. If only he could convince Phoenix to let him stay in that place.

"I'm trusting you, Lo."

"Don't get us thrown in jail."

"Worst case scenario, I go to jail. I assaulted him, right? Anyways, you can bail me out. Trickster plus prison? Bad combo."

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Oh, except the whole fact that you _don't exist_. The second you don't have anything to tell them about your identity? What then?"

"I'm sure I exist _somewhere_." In theory, it had been a while since he created the alias and the details around it were a bit skewed. But the probably still existed. Most likely. "Besides, it won't come down to that. I'm not going to jail. It's fine. I can talk myself out of anything and your brother's a dickbag. Now let me out." The soul-siblings shared a wary look before Phoenix caved and pushed the door open, freeing him to fling open and hop from the back. The wind was picking up, a light cloudcover filling the sky that screamed snow was incoming. He didn't mind the cold generally but this body didn't seem to like it at all.

Which was annoying.

His borrowed boots crunched in the snow as he ignored the cleared sidewalk, bee lining for the front door of the small mansion. Two car doors slammed shut behind him, faster footfalls tailing him as Phoenix hit him in the back of the head. "You're an ass."

"This surprises you?" He quipped, throwing a sly look at Phoenix as they made their way to the front door. If Phoenix was annoyed, she didn't show it. Which was surprising. Humming absently to himself, he stepped to the side as Phoenix stepped up and pushed open the door, a robotic voice saying something he didn't quite catch as Taylor shoved past him.

"Let us deal with the beginning of this crap." She hissed and he rolled his eyes but obliged as they stepped into the much warmer interior. No one was in the front area but he hadn't really expected that. If Phoenix's girl was trying to fix things, they were probably in a kitchen or a dining room, talking and being bribed with food and drink.

_I could use some hot chocolate right now._

"Honey, I'm home!" Phoenix called with false cheer as they led him through the house, stepping through a doorway where a _very_ attractive and surprisingly familiar woman was serving three unhappy looking policemen coffees and a tray of pastries.

"Hey, honeybun." The woman smiled cheerily at Phoenix before shooting a glare towards Loki. Her heels clicked across the floor as she crossed the room, standing a good four or five inches above her partner due to the heels. "Who is she?" The woman hissed quietly as she wrapped her partner in an embrace.

"Story for later." Phoenix breathed as she returned the embrace.

"Officers." Taylor greeted them as the officers rose to their feet, the closest one approaching them warily while the other two kept firm, distrusting looks on Loki.

"Always seems to be trouble with the two of you."

"That's crap and you know it." Phoenix huffed as they parted, crossing her arms over her chest and glowering at the police officer.

"I really don't, boy."

"Girl today, Franklin. But thanks for respecting me as I always have you."

"Who's the girl?" The officer -Franklin- completely disregarded Phoenix, casting a long look at Loki who bit his tongue for the moment. They weren't completely wrong in wanting to keep him from getting arrested. Getting deported to some unknown country would do him absolutely no good if he was wrong about his history.

"A friend of mine." Taylor spoke up and Loki bit his lip, tucked his head a bit and threw on his best attempt of being a shy girl. "Her name's Logi."

"Logi." He repeated the name and Logi nodded, bit his cheek.

"Logi Ohlsen." He lied, returning to the accent he'd used with Chad. A bit more regionally accurate this time. Most likely.

"Well, _Logi_." Franklin responded with disdain, "We received a report from Chad Bradley that you assaulted him in the public library on Main."

"I- well…" Loki willed tears into his eyes, deciding to go all in with dramatics. "I- he started throwing insults at me and I think I… I kinda blacked out… oh god I didn't hurt him did I!" The officer's eyes widened as he broke into tears. "I didn't mean to! I swear he just- he called me… a bad thing and… it wasn't true and he just- I blacked out and… please don't arrest me. I just am here for a couple days and I didn't plan to fight and I just was reading and I've never been in any trouble and I'm supposed to be going to Harvard in the fall and if this comes up on my record I'll lose my scholarship. Please, please, please." Loki babbled on, falling into false hysterics and ending up on his knees, gasping and breaking down and _damn_ this was different as a human. He'd never actually been lightheaded before but as he continued on his show his vision began dancing and then… darkness.

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

When he came to consciousness he was on a very comfortable bed staring at a nicely painted ceiling. He felt numb and it took a moment for him to realize…

He'd fainted. Wow. That was definitely a new one.

"You okay?" Taylor's voice pierced the air and he groaned, closed his eyes again. Right. Human. "I'll take that as a no but you'll live."

"Are they still here?"

"No." Taylor responded and he flicked his eyes open again, turned his head to see her sitting on a chair next to the mattress with a book titled _Mystery Spot_ sat open on her lap. "You fainting kind of freaked them out. I'm not sure if they bought your story or were scared of a lawsuit but they apologized and left."

"So it worked?"

"For now. Chad's a dick and you made him look like an idiot. He'll call up daddy dearest and start all sorts of crap again."

Loki lay there for a long moment, stared at the ceiling. Again. That meant this asshole had done stuff like this in the past.

_I send this prayer to… Eris, Lugh, or… Wun Wukong. If you're still alive. Chad Bradley. Follow this prayer to wherever the hell I am, hand him his ass. _Pause, _This is Loki. I'm human for now. I'd prefer if home didn't know I was alive._

Silence followed, not that he'd expected an answer. The chance that any of those Tricksters were still alive was slim, but out of the untrustworthy… they were the most likely to not rat him out.

"So, what's he- _she_ telling her woman?"

"The truth." Taylor responded, looking back down at her book and breathing through her nose.

"That's a risk."

"So is lying to her." Taylor responded with a shrug. "Angela's pretty open minded. She puts up with our crap enough that she'll at the very least listen."

"And if she doesn't?"

"That's a problem for later." Taylor responded just as the door opened, Phoenix peeking around it and looking at Taylor then him.

"You're up."

"Yep. Alive and well, thanks for asking."

Phoenix looked like a kicked puppy as she stepped through the doorway, a much less dressed up Angela following him and planting a distrusting glare on him. Like he was the bad guy in this scenario.

"You're Loki."

"Yes." He confirmed, resisting the desire to correct the usage of his real name. It probably wasn't the best time to have that conversation.

"The actual Loki. Like… Tom Hiddleston in a woman's body."

"Tom- they made me British!" Phoenix rolled her eyes as Loki flopped back on the mattress and groaned, rubbing his hands across his face. "It's a tragedy."

"And you're a drama queen."

"Screw off, Taylor." Loki scowled at her as he looked at Angela again. "Not Tom Hiddleston. Not some dumbass with a weird hat. I'm the big one, the real deal. God of fire and mischief and whatever labels the world's thrown my way over the years."

"You expect me to believe this?"

"I don't expect you to believe me. I don't need to expect anything because I already know the answer."

Angela bit her lip, eyed him with a raised brow. "And what's that?"

"Your girlfriend's not going to throw herself into drama with her brother unless she has a major reason. Which means me? I must be something different. And sure, a God's a pretty crazy story, but if he -sorry she was going to lie? That's a pretty off the wall one."

"Prove it."

Loki snorted, rolling his eyes. "Prove it? If I could prove it I wouldn't be here right now but- actually, no. You know what? I bet I can." Holding her gaze, he didn't hesitate to pull his jacket off, following the movement with tugging his borrowed t-shirt over his head.

"Lo-"

"She wants proof," Loki responded, cutting Phoenix's protest off. "Angela Markson? Right?"

"Did you tell her that?" Angela asked slowly, shooting a look towards Phoenix who shook her head, eyes wide.

"I know because we've had sex before."

"What! No, I-" Ignoring her, he turned around and tugged up the hair on the back of his neck to reveal the intricate tattoo he knew sat at the top of his spine.

"You recognize this?"

"I- but…"

"It's unique because it's a brand on my soul. It's familiar because you saw it move that night. You were in a… royal blue dress. You'd just been turned down on another job offer from a sleezebag that I killed the next day."

"Wait- you… you slept with Loki?" Phoenix sounded completely dumbfounded and maybe just a hair bit jealous.

"Don't sound so envious, bird girl. I was a man at the time." Loki twisted around, tugging the shirt back on after a pointed look from Taylor. Angela was clearly lost, eyes wide but the familiarity there. "And she was a lot younger. How old are you now? Twenty-six?"

"Thirty." Angela's voice was shaky and he knew she had her. There were no coincidences in life. It confirmed yet again that he needed to contact Carver Edlund, something that he'd completely spaced on in the midst of everything else. His human mind was spacey and he wasn't retaining the things he needed to. The solutions were there, he just needed to _find them_.

He needed to focus. Something that his mind wasn't designed for. His entire purpose was creating chaos and trouble.

"Bird, I need your phone. The email. Now." His gaze flicked to Phoenix who blinked before digging her phone from the pocket of her jeans and tossing it to him. He took it and swiped the screen open, clicking the email icon and tabbing through an assortment of emails from the website he'd looked at the fanfiction on before finding an email from Carver Edlund.

_Dear Phoenix Bradley,_

_My name is Carver Edlund, yes, the author of the Supernatural book series. I know you know who I am, and I wish I could say I'm emailing you because you are a fan. That's not the case. I'm emailing you because you're close to the place he will be._

_Let me start off by saying, you can say no. You can leave him to die. I wouldn't blame you if you do because he's an ass. But you can save him. He's going to be rude and ungrateful and it's going to be difficult to deal with him, but it would be better for everyone involved if he survived._

_The problem isn't yours and you don't have to take it on alone. There are others that can help. Say the word, and I'll contact them._

_Now, onto what I need. On Tuesday night there will be a flash of light outside of the town where you live. I can't tell you exactly where, but it will be close to you. When it happens, a man will appear. This man will be who you know as The Trickster, or Loki. This is important. It is **Loki**. He will not like you, he will not respect you, but he will need you. He will be human and he will be upset, but he'll need you._

_Try to understand that I can't answer all of your questions._

_Sam and Dean Winchester. That's their real names._

_Things will right themselves eventually, though. For when you inevitably get this, Loki. Patience. Have patience._

_-Carver Edlund_

"That's it." Loki scowled at the phone. "Patience. No. I will _not_ be patient with some Judeo-Christian asshole prophet!"

"Prophet?" He could practically feel Angela staring at him and he narrowed his eyes, looked at Phoenix then Taylor.

"You aren't surprised." His mind seemed to have flipped straight to problem solving, logic and frustration taking over his general mindset for the time being. "You knew he was a prophet."

"I-"

"How?" Another question was how _he_ knew that but it was an issue for another day.

"The fourth series." Phoenix muttered, averting his gaze.

"You said there were three."

"There were. Originally. About four years ago he published another series of books, twenty two new books. Carver wrote himself into them as a prophet. It's part of why I believed him."

"Why did you lie to me about that? What's another book series mean? That we know what Carver Edlund is? Or… do you know how I died, Phoenix? Is that the reason you're hiding them?"

"No- Christ, _no_, Lo. Look, they just don't matter. You aren't _in_ that series. That's why I didn't mention them."

"I want your collection, Phoenix. Now." Phoenix eyed him for a long moment with a wary look before turning and disappearing out the door.

"Can I talk to her alone for a minute, Taylor?" Loki didn't look away from Angela, her expression wary and distrusting.

"Do you have to?"

"Go help your brother." Taylor tossed the book in her lap at him before getting up and disappearing out the door.

"What do you want?"

"A favor." Loki admitted after the door shut.

"I don't want to do anything-"

"I'm an asshole. I'll own up to that and more. I need your help, though. I want to stay here. It's a better option than Taylor's and I'll be out as soon as I piece together why I'm powerless."

"And if you don't?"

"If I don't figure it out by next Tuesday, I'll contact Sam and Dean Winchester. I tortured them but if I stoop low enough to ask for help they might do it."

"And if they don't?"

"I'll die as a human." Loki responded with a grimace, flicking his gaze down to the book in his lap. The front had two overly dramatized semi-accurate representations of the brothers on it with a pile of candy wrappers at their feet.

"What are the bruises?"

Loki shrugged. "No clue. I woke up with them there."

"They look painful."

"They're sore but I think they're soul brands." Loki hesitated for a moment before tugging up the front of his shirt to show the triangular shaped scar on his body. "I think this is the injury that killed me."

"You didn't have that on… your other body."

"No, I didn't." Loki agreed, dropping his shirt and looking back at the book. "I don't know how I died and I don't know why I'm human. What I do know is this and the bruises on my back are new. They're scars to my soul, not my body, and Carver Edlund has to have answers, ones he's not sharing."

"You think his books will have something?"

"No." Loki admitted, "But I wanted to confirm you were you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means my name is going around and I'm dreading the moment that the Æsir learn I'm alive. If you can, call me Lo or Logi… not my real name."

"What did you do?"

"I'm likely the only survivor of the slaughter that happened to the Pagans the day I died, which means that I'll be blamed for Odin's death."

"That does sound bad."

Loki snorted and flipped the book over, eyes skimming the back.

_Sam and Dean investigate the disappearance of a man who went missing at a tourist location. While searching the site, Dean is shot and killed by the owner._

That was a very base summary for what actually went down. Though, he didn't doubt for a moment that some of the grimmer details were in the book. He'd done what he did, though. He'd tried to teach Sam a lesson, a lesson that he hadn't wanted to learn.

"I can stay, right?"

"Yes."

"You're a lifesaver."

"However," Angela added and he grimaced, looked up at her when she didn't say anything more. There was a look to her and he knew what he was about to be told, whether he liked it or not. "If you don't keep your hands off of us, I'll kick you to the curb. I don't have the energy to deal with a horny Trickster."

"Fine. But just so you know, the offer is there. For all three of you if you're up for it." He waggled his brows at her, grinning at her scowl.

"I'm straight."

"And I'm a man. Technically. I'll keep my hands off, but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop. I'll get bored if I do and trust me, you don't want me to be bored."

"Okay. So we have a deal then."

"That we do. So what's for dinner?"

"Group project. Be downstairs in an hour to help."

"Fine." Loki conceded, finally flipping open the front of the book. "So, we're doing this."

"I guess so. I'll leave you to your reading?"

"I want to see how well the prophet portrayed me." He grinned at Angela, tilting his head and watching her as she left the room.

There was a moment where he waited for Phoenix or Taylor to come in but neither did and he took a breath, rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. When a couple minutes went by and he was still alone he snagged his phone and dialed out on a number, waiting for several long moments. Just when he thought it would go to voicemail the ringing stopped.

"Hello?" The voice on the other line was so familiar, a voice he hadn't heard since he died and there was a single moment where he almost said nothing. "Who is this?"

"Son," Loki started, throat closing.

"What- you're dead." There was commotion from the other line, his son's voice staying quiet as he clearly tried to stay quiet for someone. "Hela took me. I _saw_ your body."

"I know. I was dead."

"Where are you?"

"I can't tell you that. I just wanted you to know."

"Wait- Odin…"

"I didn't let him die. I know what everyone thinks but I _didn't_. I tried to save them. I tried to save all of them."

"You can't go home."

"I couldn't if I want to. I just felt you deserved to know." There was a stretch of silence and static started to crackle across the line. "Fenrir."

"I knew it." Fenrir breathed out, "I _knew_ you were alive."

"I'd prefer you keep it between us."

"I'm telling Jöry. He's left them as well. He won't tell them."

"I hope you're right." Loki responded.

"I am." Silence fell for a moment longer. "Father."

"I know." Fenrir was the first to hang up and he set the phone down on the mattress.

"I thought you were being careful." Loki rolled onto his side and looked at the entrance where Taylor was standing with a small stack of books in her arms.

"Reckless is my middle name." Loki smiled glumly and lifted the comforter up. "Come lay with me?"

"With you or you because I don't have a super active libido."

"Come here." Taylor held his gaze for a long moment before setting the books on the dresser by the door and walking over to the bed.

"You promised Angela."

"I did. But did you?" Loki grinned at the look in Taylor's eyes before she sat on the edge of the mattress. "That's what I thought." He waited for her to lay down before he pressed up against her side, pressing his face into her shoulder and breathing deeply. "Thank you."

"Sorry, couldn't hear that?" He huffed an annoyed breath as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.

"I'm not saying it again." He stated decidedly, catching her mouth in a deep kiss. "Let's have some fun."

"You're impossible."

"Mhm." He conceded before crawling on her, catching her in another kiss to shut up any potential response.


	14. 14 - Coyote

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

Coyote stared at the fire as she carefully discarded her clothing, piece by piece until she was shivering and in nothing but a pair of heart covered boxers. Trem was close, asleep on his cot, but she knew he would wake up sooner rather than later.

She took a moment to examine her torso, ignoring the biting of the cold as she pressed her thumb against the scar on her chest.

_The killing blow._

Swallowing, she skimmed her skin for something else. There had to be something that could tell her more. Another soul brand that could key her in to her reason for being where she was. It had to be there. Knowing her magic as she did, there _had_ to be an answer. In the end, all she found was the sigil of Athena, branded into her ankle just as it had been for decades.

It would be useful if she could see her back but after digging around through Trem's things all morning she had concluded he had nothing mirrorlike. Or at least not in any good position for her to find without getting into his personal objects.

"What- why are you undressed?"

"You're awake," Coyote turned to look at her companion, gaze sliding across his blanket covered form in the corner.

"The sun isn't up yet. Why are you undressed, god-girl?"

"Answers," She admitted, moving close to the fire again and breathing deeply through her nose, inhaling the heat like a drug. "I didn't sleep well last night. Initially I assumed it was another Trickster toying with me but- well, what if it's more nefarious? What if I'm endangering you?"

Trem chuckled softly as he left his cot, shaking his head as he took his seat next to her, lifting the fur coat he had given her and setting it over her shoulders. "You're worried for me, God-girl?"

"You're a kind-hearted man. I don't wish ill on the good."

"You still don't know me, God-girl."

"And you don't know me, human-man. I have enemies and as I think back on them… I worry."

_"-and I love you-"_ _Sharp, searing pain. Betrayal. "-Oh, I'm loyal. To them!-"_

"I don't remember a lot of things. My mind is fogged and misty, but I'm getting… fragments. Things that I'm certain happened a lot more recently."

"You believe you may have been attacked?"

"Considering how much I have to be missing, I'm certain of it. I'm also certain that I was dead. And you don't know me. Yet, here we are. I don't know what you did before, but what I do know is that you took me in at the word of an angel without hesitation."

"What if I were a serial killer, God-girl? Would you protect me then?"

"Yes." Coyote admitted, much to her own surprise- though it did make sense as her mind caught up with her words. "If you are here it means you are serving punishment for your crimes, and by helping me you are showing yourself a better way."

They sat in a long silence following those words. It was true, though. Even if she was still empowered, she wouldn't have punished this man for whatever he was in his past. Not unless it was something truly despicable. Something she couldn't at all imagine from him.

"I let my father die." Trem finally said after a long moment, lifting her pants from the ground and setting them in her lap.

"Let him?" Coyote took the pants and carefully tugged them on, following up with her socks then boots and moving closer to the fire.

"My… My father was a part of a large crime group. There was a meeting one night that I learned about and I wasn't supposed to tell him. The thing was… this meeting would've killed some innocents that father cared about. I had to tell him. When he asked me to join him, though… I told him no. I was afraid of what they would do to me if I went with him. I knew what would happen. The moment I opened my mouth, though… he was dead. I led him to his death."

"You did what you thought was right."

"No. I did what he wanted. What I knew he wanted, and then when he wanted more I ran like a coward."

"Is that why you're here?"

"Yes." Trem admitted and Coyote wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulled him into her side like he wasn't nearly twice her size. "I screwed up."

"You did what you thought was right. Was your father angry that you didn't want to go with him?"

"No." Trem admitted. "Father was never angry with his children. Even when he acted the part."

"Then it doesn't matter. Don't feel guilty for what happened, grieve but don't blame yourself. It isn't worth it."

"Thank you." Trem muttered and she rested her head against him, closed her eyes.

"Does your brother know this?"

"He doesn't blame me if that's what you're asking." Trem paused for a moment, shifted closer to the fire much to her surprise. "My brother will be here today."

"He- today? Has it been a week?"

"Yes," Trem confirmed. "I spoke with him last night and he will be leaving in the dawn, arriving at the setting of the sun. I need to get some wood before we head out but we can leave tomorrow morning at sunrise."

"What will you do when we arrive there?"

"My brother is going to help create a false identity for you. Some basic paperwork that will allow you to function as a member of society. Then… well, I presume you'll need my help with the modern world." Trem hesitated, looked over at her, "If that is okay with you?"

"Of course." She responded automatically, closing her eyes. "You don't have to, though. I'm old but I'm sure I can figure it out." _I think that even if my mind is gone, my body knows enough to help guide me. _At least that was what she hoped was the case. She couldn't rely on Trem. Not completely.

"You don't realize how drastic this world is from the one you remember. I promise that you will need me with you."

"Does that mean you are done punishing yourself?"

"No." Trem responded, "This is… redemption. Helping you."

"I suppose that is fair then." She agreed, sighed deeply. "I guess we should finish sleep for the night."

"That… mark on your ankle. What is that?"

Coyote bit her cheek, eyes flicking open as she stared into the open flame. "It is something that I received from Athena many years ago. A… bond. A promise." The details were blurry to her now, like many other things simply… absent. "I told her a secret, a secret that I had never told another and in response… she told me hers. It was a secret that could have ripped the Greeks in half. I guess shame led her to opening up. I'm not allowed to say what was said. The bind is on my soul, not my ankle. If I were to tell you what she told me…" Her throat closed and she swallowed, "It would kill me. Just as what she knew of me would have killed her."

"That's fascinating." Trem responded and she laughed softly, finally peeled away from her companion and lay down to stare at the fire. If she looked closely she was sure she could see Chantico in its depths, watching her with the sadness of a thousand suns.

"If you see Coyo, tell him I need help." She whispered into the flames, desperate for anything resembling her old life.

"Sleep well, Coyote. I will wake you before I leave."

Coyote curled by the fire, Trem stroking her side gently with his hand. _Coyo, Crow… if you can hear me. I am asking you, please. Please come help me. I need you. I miss you._

Before sleep pulled her under she might have sworn she heard the flutter of wings.

.-~*~-.

Coyote woke to the sound of howling. It wasn't a familiar howl but that haunting wolf one that had accompanied her since her arrival. This one was closer, _much_ closer and she groaned in pain at the awkward position she had slept in.

"Crow?" Her eyes flicked open, breath catching in her throat when she was met by the sight of a bird. It was small and white, feathers glistening faintly in the firelight. Yet, despite its color, she had no doubt it was a crow. "Crow!" She tried to move but found her entire body was numb, tingling faintly and refusing to move when she willed it.

The eyes were the giveaway and they were the most precious thing she had ever seen.

"I- did you do this?" The bird tilted its head, blinked at her with amber eyes. Amber. The most familiar amber she knew, the most important eyes in her life. "Why can't I move? Crow- Crow!" The bird jumped suddenly, head darting towards the door before it disappeared into the flames- not burning. Just vanishing and she was _certain_ she could see Chantico staring at her from the depths of the flames. "Please- please, _help me_."

Sudden and sharp the flames went out and she stopped breathing, listened carefully at the scuffling outside of the cabin. Rustling and huffing of breath was just barely audible on the other side of the wall. Now that she was more aware she realized that there was light flickering through the windows. It was daytime and she was still paralyzed. Had Trem left? Abandoned her or gone for more wood?

Was he safe?

Her breathing hitched as claws raked against wood, a gentle scratching that turned quickly into something more frustrated, insistent.

Howls erupted again, significantly louder, closer, and her breathing caught in her throat. _Crow. Crow, please_. A whimper rippled past her lips, unstopped even when she thought she was in control, her human body betraying her. A snarl resounded from outside the door, low and deep and warning. There were yaps, jaws snapping and something seemed to snap in her, breaking through whatever it was that was paralyzing her. Her limbs felt heavy and wrong but she managed to roll over, biting her cheek hard enough to draw blood when her entire body screamed in protest at the motions.

_Crow, please. Please come back. Help me. Crow… I'm begging._ Her heart was pounding in her ears and her body screaming in protest as she shoved herself against the wall behind her. A heavy weight was slamming into the door now, heavy bodies colliding with solid wood that she wasn't sure would hold if these were grey wolves.

"Trem!" She shouted just as a loud sound ripped through the air, a high, shrieking wailing that caused startled yelps to resound from the other side. Another, strange sound that her mind somehow equated to the engine if a vehicle.

A horn.

The howling resounded again and there was indecipherable shouting in another language on the other side. "_Permisjon_!" The voice shouted, sounding more like something from the mouth of a dragon than something from a human, a hiss rasping at the end.

The door flung open, slamming shut behind someone tall and lanky as beasts slammed into it again with violent snarls. "We must leave now. Trem, I hope you are packed. You," The lanky man turned around, mouth falling open at the sight of her. "You are… Coyote? Where is my brother?" He had a thick accent, one that Coyote couldn't begin to place.

"I don't know." Coyote admitted and the lanky man crossed the cabin, knelt before the fire and threw a lighter into the fireplace, a fire erupting from the device as the man looked over her. The slamming against the door was loud and relentless and the man before her looked uneasy as he looked across her. His face was sunken in, eyes an oddly familiar shade of light brown that almost looked red. His skin was a very pale white and his clothes were a vibrant green made from what almost looked like snake scales. "I… I woke up and he was gone. You're his brother?"

"My name is Slange." The man muttered, looking towards the door. "We must leave this place."

"Slange? What kind of name is that?"

"The kind that a father gives his son when he worries for his safety. My brother says you are the God Coyote?"

"I- yes." Was that the safe answer? Was this man who he claimed to be?

"So, if I were to tell you the beasts outside the door were not wolves but men that take the forms of beasts would you believe me?"

"Shapeshifters?" Something that her and her companions had been commonly misconstrued as.

"Not exactly." Slange huffed, coming to her side and hooking an arm under her shoulder to help her to her feet. "They are skinwalkers. These ones in particular were once humans but are now beasts generally. They have… lost themselves. Their leader, though. Their leader is generally a rational man. If these beasts are attacking I assume they have likely taken my brother."

"We have to help him."

"No. We have to take you to Sagwon so I can-"

"_No_." Slange's eyes widened and she blinked at the almost growl in her voice. The protective defensive curls of her lips over human teeth- _what am I doing?_

"They will tear you apart."

"And they won't harm you?"

"I'm prepared for them." Slange countered, tapping at his hips and something metal. A weapon her mind identified as a gun.

"If you're prepared, give me a blade. I'm not some damsel." In truth she had never been a huge fan of fighting, but it didn't mean she was incapable of it. "Let me help you save him."

_Crack_. Both of their heads whipped towards the door as the wood splintered and Slange made an irritated sound, nearly a hiss, before he reached into his boot and pulled a knife from his boot.

Had that been there before?

The adrenaline pumping through her caused her to retake control of her body as five large wolves came through the doorway, the one that knocked the door over scrambling to its feet as it shook its fur out. They were all varying shades of white, golden eyes glistening in the firelight as they snarled at the two humans in their midst.

"One chance. Leave, hounds."

The front beast snarled in response.

"Be ready." Coyote didn't look over as she took the offered blade from the thin man's hand, the wolves tracking the movements with their eyes. There were five in the room, three others in the doorway, biting and growling at each other as they tried to be the first through the door.

These weren't normal beasts and even if they were, she had never been attacked by canines. The beasts were human in some form but not enough to make their actions that of a human. However… _the alpha_. The center had to be the leader, the alpha, which meant that she barely caught the movement at her sides before she was hit, _hard_, and sent colliding into Slange.

A loud _crack_ ripped through the air as she rolled under the beast over her, the white furred hound snapping for her throat and instead catching the sharp silver blade in its maw. A yowl rippled from the creature, it rearing back and snarling at her, blood pouring from the wounds at the sides of its mouth. There was barely a moment before she threw herself backwards and another beast flew over her, howling in agony as it was engulfed in the fire.

"Your back!" Slange called, giving her just enough time to spin, shoving her blade and catching the next beast in its throat. In the back she could see Slange straddling the back of one of the wolves, a rope strapped between its jaws as he tugged its head back to where it was forced to stare at the ceiling, violently bucking under the weight as Slange used the freed hand to fire off a bullet into one of the other wolves who went down with a howl of agony. The one she'd first cut took advantage of her distraction and she was suddenly on the ground, teeth cutting through the thick fabric of her jacket and puncturing her shoulder. A shout ripped from her throat as she reached around and drove her silver blade into its neck, a snarl tearing from its throat as it bit harder into her. In a panic she violently stabbed in, once, twice, three times.

_Bang_. The wolf collapsed on her with a low groaning sound and she struggled to shove the heavy body off of her as Slange appeared in front of her, firing off six bullets in quick succession at the four remaining beasts. He caught two in the forehead with the silver coated bullets, missing the two others that were bolting for the door now.

"Coyote. Coyote, look at me." Her eyes blinked rapidly, meeting the concerned brown above her. "How bad is it? How hurt are you?"

"I- my shoulder." She groaned, struggled under the weight over her. "My back." A pained whimper tore past her lips. "We need to get out of here."

_Crow. I don't know why you aren't helping me but… I think I'm beginning to realize there is something else happening. You would never leave me for dead so I will stop praying. I do hope you know. I miss you, old friend. I hope that even if you cannot come to me… that I can see you again. Don't leave me alone. Please._

"I will take you to-"

"Not there. They have Trem. We have to save him, we have to get your brother."

"You are in no position to fight, Coyote. Even if you are a God as you claim to be, you are human now and-"

"-and you can't take them on alone. You know that as well as I do and you aren't an idiot. Stop arguing and help me up. We need to move before the snow covers their trails."

The two held each other's gazes, eyes narrowing in challenge before, finally, the other surrendered, bowed his head and nodded. "Fine. But I take no responsibility if you get yourself killed. Is that understood?"

"Yes. Now help me to my feet."

Slange gave her a long look before gripping her good hand and pulling her to her feet. She let out a low sound, grateful that it was her right shoulder damaged and not her left. Grateful her dominant hand was her left.

"Are you ready for this, Coyote?"

"Yes." She grinned at him and he considered her for a moment before offering her the blade she had dropped on the floor and let him lead her from the room.


	15. 15 - Gabriel

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

Gabriel watched his brothers sleep from the table, Sam curled up in his own bed and shivering slightly in the cool room. At some point in the night the A/C had stopped working and the room was annoyingly cold. Gabriel wasn't fond of the cold. He didn't hate it, but he didn't like it.

Considering his position… the cold was going to be a bitter annoyance.

Pausing in his reading on the laptop screen, Gabriel rose from his seat and crossed the room. The movements were careful and concise when he tugged the blanket up to cover the younger Winchester, wrapping it around his sides and pressing it down beneath him with care that he'd never suspected he possessed.

"Gabriel?" He froze in his motions, hand half tucked under his ankle, eyes flicking up to meet the tired hunter's gaze. "What're you doing?"

"You kicked the blanket off." He told the hunter, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was muscle memory that had him acting, he realized. If the lore was anything to go by… it was likely he had children out there. Children of Loki.

"So… you're tucking me in." Sam shifted under the covers, pushed the blankets off of him until he could sit up, blanket pooling around his hips. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Castiel and Dean took the bed before I could join them. I was reading to tire myself so I could sleep on the floor." Sam frowned at him then, expression a bit sympathetic.

"Don't sleep on the floor."

"I-"

"Either wake Cas up, because he doesn't need sleep, or…" In the dim light of the room Gabriel thought he could see a faint blush on the hunter's cheek. "Lay with me."

"You don't have to do that." Gabriel frowned.

"If Dean thinks it's normal, why shouldn't I? Besides. It's late and it's cold in here."

Gabriel licked his lips before surrendering to the offer pretty quickly, first sitting next to the younger hunter before finally laying in the spot next to him. Sam carefully pulled the thin comforter over them and Gabriel stared at the ceiling, the hunter rolling so his back was facing Gabriel.

"Sam?" He was tired but he wanted to take advantage of the momentary breath of privacy. The last week had been constant chaos with the four hunters, angel, and ex-angel.

"Yeah?"

"Do you hate me?"

A long breath of silence followed that until Sam rolled over and Gabriel could feel the hazel eyed gaze burning into the side of his skull. "I think it'd be easier if I did. If I did, though… you wouldn't be here." He was certain it meant more than he wouldn't be in the bed with the hunter. Gabriel glanced over, rolling onto his side so he could face the hunter. "I've got to wonder… how'd you convince Dean to do this? The bed thing. Dean stopped sharing beds when he was twelve. Insisted only 'babies' shared beds."

"Purgatory is cold at night." Smiling grimly, Gabriel closed his eyes. "Really cold. Subzero temperatures cold. Castiel struggled through it. Dean, though… he was stubborn. Your brother chose the fire and technically freezing to death at night. Except for the fact that he couldn't die. 'Cuddling's weird, man. Grown men don't cuddle'. That was what he told me the first couple times. Then he saw me and Cas curl up together. Our wings are great insulation. Eventually… he gave in. It wasn't some overnight miracle. It was a process but it took longer than I thought it would."

"You sound like you miss it."

"Purgatory or cuddling with your brother curled up under my wings?" Gabriel retorted immediately and Sam huffed an annoyed breath.

"I'm being serious."

"I know… I'd apologize but I'm not sorry. I hated Purgatory. I hated the monsters, the beasts, the leviathans eating me but- well there was an appeal, you know. In there, it was black and white. If he wasn't being difficult, Dean would tell you the same. There was us, and there was them. There was no good or bad. It was just… fighting."

"I thought you hated fighting."

"I hated my brothers fighting. I still do. Some mornings I wake up and there's a moment where I think Michael and Lucifer are nearby, playing with the fish, until I remember otherwise. Despite my memory… I'm certain it's been millennia."

"Cas always told us that angels don't need sleep."

"They don't. But we like to. Sleep for an angel is about the contact, the bonding. The proximity. When we are young… our elder siblings wrap us up in their wings, rock us to sleep…"

Quiet followed that for a long moment and if it wasn't for the distracted look he could see in the hunter's expression, he would have thought he was asleep.

"You said you were going to read until you were too tired to stay awake."

"I tried before but… well, I lay there for an hour and it wouldn't come to me. I felt… alone?"

"Well… I'm tired. You're tired. Do you… want to... cuddle? Or is this enough for you?"

"Sleep is enough." Gabriel responded, smiling softly, "Thank you, Sam."

"Goodnight, Gabriel."

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

"Here!" Charlie called out suddenly, voice loud and excited as she dropped a heavy book she'd been reading for the last hour and a half in front of Sam. "Look."

There was a moment of silence where Sam's gaze skated across the paper before he turned his head, looked at the red head, "Daemons?" Gabriel frowned as something bit at the edge of his mind. What was that? Demons? The way she was saying it… it didn't sound like the normal ones.

"Demons don't steal souls," Dean cut in, crowding in at the table anyways and leaning over the book.

"Daemon, with an a," Sam emphasized the a as he looked back at the page. "Look. Here it says that they wander and feed off the 'souls of the wild'. If I were to guess… souls of the wild probably means animals, but 'on rare occurrences a daemon takes interest in the souls of the civilized'. You think the civilized is humans?"

"Yes," Charlie answered, slipping her fingers across the page, "See, it's used again here."

"Rare occurrences? There's five around here without souls- that we _know_ about." Dean scowled at the paper.

"What exactly are they?"

"Soulless gods," Charlie spoke up and Gabriel blinked, looked up from where he'd been staring blankly at a webpage on the laptop screen.

"Cagn."

"What?" The hunters all looked at him and he frowned. Cagn? Who was that?

"I… don't know." Gabriel frowned as Sam grabbed the laptop from across the table and tapped into it.

"_Cagn is the supreme god of the San of southern Africa._" Sam read off, "_He is the first being and the creator of the world… He is a trickster god who can shapeshift, most often into the praying mantis._"

"Another Trickster?" Dean asked and Gabriel shifted in his seat, shut his eyes. Cagn. Why did that name ring so loudly? Resound with him at such a spiritual level.

_"You want help, feathered man?" The Trickster raised its brow, leered at the Archangel before him as it smiled sharply, all teeth and a wicked smile._

_"I need to escape their rules. I want to be my own person." Gabriel sank to his knees, wings shivering behind him as The Trickster put its hands on its hips, tilted its head._

_"To be your own person you will have to become someone else. There is no in between."_

_"Whatever it takes." Gabriel's eyes met the soft dirty brown eyes of The Trickster, the color shifting between shades as he looked into them._

_They were nothing like the nearly feral look on The Trickster's expression._

_"Whatever it takes is a lot to offer, feathers. I sincerely recommend against offering it."_

_"My offer stands. Please."_

_Smirking, The Trickster pressed forward, gripped him by the back of his Vessel's hair and pulled them until they were nose to nose. The brown shifted in intensity, seven shades melting together and swirling around in his iris._

_"Wh- what are you-"_

_"Taking your offer," The Trickster answered, tilting its head and pressing its lips to his mouth. It was his first -awkward and stunning- kiss and he did nothing but kneel there, energy crackled between them as The Trickster flooded his system with something. Something new- something…_

Gabriel inhaled sharply, stared at the wooden tabletop before him.

"Gabriel?" Gabriel whipped his head to his left where Castiel was now standing, concern etched into his expression.

"I- I remember It. I remember Cagn." Those eyes burned behind his eyelids every time he blinked, bright and teasing.

"Just like that?"

"My memories are scattered, Dean." Gabriel defended with a scowl, "Human minds are limited."

"I didn't mean to offend you, man." Gabriel pressed his lips together and thought back on the memory, clung to it for dear life.

"So… this memory?" Sam asked and he flicked his gaze up, "What was it?"

"I wanted help… Cagn uh- it kissed me."

Dean snorted and Charlie snickered.

"I'd never kissed anyone before." Gabriel licked his lips, pressed the tips of his fingers to them. "Actually… Cagn is the only thing I remember ever kissing."

"So, what was she like?" Dean pressed. "Is she cute?"

"Dude."

"It wasn't a she. It was Cagn… I remember simply knowing it as The Trickster."

"That's what Carver Edlund called you," Gabriel blinked at her.

"Chuck Shurley," Dean clarified and Charlie gave him a look.

"He's a prophet. The… last prophet. Kevin Tran is the active one." Castiel explained to Charlie, Gabriel's memories still vividly possessing the memories of the latest prophet.

"He was Jessie Crow in the books." Charlie muttered and Dean snorted, rolled his eyes.

"Anyways," Gabriel continued on, "Cagn wasn't a he or a she. I vividly remember it being The Trickster. There were no distinctive characteristics that identified it as male or female and I almost feel like… it would be offended if I called it a man or woman? It feels… old. Really old."

"You sound wary."

"I feel I am missing something." Gabriel admitted, pressing his hands to his face. "Something that I shouldn't be."

"Something from Heaven?" The frown was evident in Castiel's voice.

"Yes. Something from… before- but if Loki is my other portion… why would he get a memory from Heaven?" It didn't add up and it bothered him greatly. There was something vitally important that he was missing.

Or maybe insignificant.

He wanted to know either way.

"Are you sure it isn't just your human mind?"

"It feels too defined. Just as the other gaps are. It has to be the same thing." Gabriel frowned, "I need a moment." Carefully he pushed up from where he was seated, "May I have your room key, Charlie?" The red head frowned but handed it over and he made his way out, shivering at the memory of his wings.

_Wings_.

That was the word on his mind when he stumbled into the bathroom of the second room, tugging off the leather jacket and button up that he'd bought a couple days before. The mirror was cracked down the center and when he twisted around, it cut across his spine, marred the reflection of his spine.

What it didn't mar was the bruising on his back, no longer tender but still dark and angry looking. What he had never seen before was the marking at the top of his spine, similar to the sigil of Athena on his ankle but more intricate. The mark on his ankle was something he didn't have a word for, the design something Sam had identified for him.

There was a wolf. A very distinctive wolf. It was about the size of a quarter, sat on its haunches, head tilted to the side and Gabriel could almost swear he could see it breathing, subtle, shifting of its torso as it seemingly stared into his soul from the empty spaces where pale flesh was exposed that must've been the creature's eyes.

Gabriel stared at his reflection, the creature on his skin, and swallowed heavily.

"Cagn." The name left his lips again. A silent word. A whisper so low he barely heard it himself.

Just as quick as the name came, he wasn't by himself anymore. There was a small woman- man? seated in front of him, swirling brown eyes settled into the sunken in eye sockets of the creature before him. Whipping around, Gabriel opened his mouth only to have it covered by a dark, boney hand. There was a playful light in those eyes. A familiar, twisted smile curled on its lips as it eyed him like a meal.

"Feathers."

When the hand left his mouth, the entity leaning forward, palms on the both of its knees as it leaned in so that they were nose to nose. It left him paralyzed on the spot, completely unable to move.

Part of him curled violently, knelt in submission. Yet, he was an A_rchangel_. Archangels didn't submit to deities.

Cagn felt like _more_ than a deity.

"I'm disappointed in you." It continued, sniffing him, moving its head up the side of his head, licking a trail of nasty slime across his cheek as it sniffed at his ear. "Afraid, vulnerable. What a shame. And here I thought you'd learned your lessons." With a feral smile, the creature threw its head back, letting out a vicious cackle that cracked the glass behind it before suddenly throwing itself forward.

It collided with him, a hard and heavy weight that sent him back into the floor with a shout, back slamming into the wall while The Trickster landed solidly in his lap.

"What are you-" With a toothy grin, Cagn's eyes melted into a deep chocolate brown shade and rough lips collided with his. All he could do was surrender to the onslaught as the entity slipped its hands around to his back, dug sharp nails into the wing bruises on his back hard enough to draw blood, make him tender and sore.

"A week." Cagn sighed, all drama as it disappeared from where it had made itself at home in his lap, reappearing on the counter. "A week and you didn't _see_. Come on, feathers. Those were your toys, after all. Stop being a blind baboon."

"Gabriel!" Someone was suddenly in the room and with the grace of a cat, Cagn pounced, landing so it was caging the once-archangel to the floor. "What-"

"And do me a favor." The Trickster whispered with mirth, "Don't play nice. It's ever so boring." Tilting its head slightly, the entity winked before capturing Gabriel in another aggressive kiss that left his lips bitten and bloody.

Then it was gone and someone else was in front of him, shaking him slightly as he stared blankly in front of him.

"_Gabriel._"

"I-" His eyes darted up, met hazel etched with a concern he'd never expected.

Gabriel kissed Sam.


	16. 16 - Loki

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

Loki tossed the pancake in the pan as he flipped through the last pages of _Lucifer Rising_.

_The gateway poured open, light streaming out as a high wailing came from the center. In the midst of it all, Sam heard one word._

_"Samuel…"_

Loki stared at the final page, stomach twisting uncomfortably. Lucifer. The Judeo-Christian devil had been freed by Sam. Of course he'd known that but… reading it made it all so much more concrete.

Or maybe it was his missing memories. The details in a book written about the brothers cementing the things that seemed less real in his own mind.

"Lo, you're burning them." Taylor tapped him in the back of the head, drawing him from his thoughts as Phoenix grabbed his bacon plate off the table.

"Bring those back!" He ordered as Phoenix cast him a broad grin, heels clicking against the floor as she made her way to the dining area. "I'm going to strangle her in her sleep. Just you watch." Loki huffed as he flipped the chocolate pancake, satisfied that he _hadn't_ been burning it.

"I do worry for him whenever you get your powers back." _If I do. _His mind corrected unhelpfully.

"I'll only torture him for a bit. If I'm in a mood. Don't worry. He'll live. …_Maybe_."

_"Relax, he'll live. ...Maybe._" The memories echoed in his mind like a dark promise. Something so much more foreboding than what he was discussing in this moment. Details missing just like everything from the year he died.

It wasn't worth stressing over that right now. Carefully he returned his focus to the final page as he checked the next pancake.

At the end of it, he closed the book, ignoring the shiver that went down his spine at the final words on the paper. A promise from the devil himself.

_"I am coming…"_

"You done with it?"

"The book or the pancake?" He asked with a wink he wasn't really feeling, taking the last pancake from the pan and dropping it on the plate. "Where's Ang?"

"Getting dressed." Loki tilted his head back, grinning when Taylor stole a quick kiss from him before grabbing the plate of eggs. "Thanks for breakfast, boy-toy."

"Careful, Tay. You might get fat living on my diet!" He called after her as she rushed from the kitchen, shaking her head at him as she moved.

Turning the stove off he shoved the powdered sugar container and three arrays of syrup bottles on the plate with the pancakes before heading into the dining room to take the seat across from Taylor. Phoenix had gone all out this morning and Loki seriously wanted to kiss her. Unfortunately Angela got frustrated when he did those sorts of things in public settings.

"You're hot this morning." He conceded to their deal, Phoenix winking at him.

"And you're not allowed to complain. Deal's a deal, Lo."

"Look, I'm willing to play house. I'm even willing to stick with one meal-ticket. But what I wouldn't do to have one-"

"Morning, Lo." Angela interrupted him from the doorway and he smiled innocently towards her as he dispersed the syrup and powdered sugar from the plate of pancakes before setting it on the middle of the table.

"Morning, Ang. Don't you look downright delicious this morning."

"And don't you look like you're trying too hard?"

_"You always did play hard to get."_

_"I've moved on."_

_"I noticed. Baldur? Really?" Of all of the Norse she could have chosen it was _him_. It was Baldur._

_"Baldur's uncomplicated."_

His eyes burned suddenly and he wiped at them, staring at the salt water that appeared on his hand. _Kali_.

"Lo-"

"I'm fine." He breathed out, swallowing the lump in his throat. Was Kali still alive? Had the Winchesters successfully saved her that night or had she died too? Had the Winchesters actually survived that night?

Did it matter?

There was a single, stupid moment where he considered praying to Kali. Then he remembered it was a really stupid idea- though he wasn't completely sure why. There was something… off there. Something that he couldn't quite remember. She wouldn't have any reason to hate him… right? She wasn't Norse. None of the Hindus had been present during that.

"A week and you still can't be honest with us?"

"I try not to be honest with anyone, sugar." He retorted, blowing a kiss at the annoyed looking Taylor before piling some pancakes and eggs on his plate.

"Did you finish _Lucifer Rising_?" Phoenix changed the topic and Loki nodded, shrugging slightly.

"Carver just left it at that? Lucifer jailbreaks then nothing?"

"He never published past the third series. The only ones available on the internet are the fourth series." Phoenix responded, grimacing. "They killed Lucifer, right? In the end they-"

"Lucifer killed me." Loki cut in bluntly, the words sharp as a knife and carrying a weight of a thousand emotions that he didn't fully grasp. Grinding his teeth together he grabbed his plate and bolted from the room, sinking into the couch and flipping on Netflix to loudly blare the first show on the continue watching.

The show about women's prison wasn't enough to distract him from the weight on the couch as no-doubt Taylor joined his side. If he wasn't certain about the things he was revolving around her he would worry about the way she was with him. The way she broke down his damned walls and made him think about things that he'd rather never remember.

"Go away."

"How human is your body?"

"I haven't had sex with any men since I was dropped back down, Taylor. Now leave me alone."

Taylor snorted and scoot closer, throwing her legs on the coffee table and looking at the screen.

"That isn't what I meant."

"I know what you meant and the answer is no. I stole your mom's birth control when we were leaving the house."

"What- seriously!"

"No, not seriously." He grinned over at her and she scowled at him, "Angela gave me some of her pills the day after we got here. She told me if I do end up sleeping with her sometimes-boyfriend she doesn't want me to get knocked up."

"She- she gave you her blessing? And you haven't acted on it?"

Loki shrugged and raised a brow at her. "Would you prefer I switch, honeybun?" When she just glared at him in response he grinned, "I'll tell if you keep the secret."

Taylor eyed him for a moment before visibly surrendering, "I'm curious."

"I would love nothing more than to screw your sister. She's absolutely gorgeous. Absolutely my type. Thing is, she's expecting it. They both think I'm going to cave sooner or later."

"You're screwing with them."

"Absolutely. Sometimes the prize is so much better. Besides, I'd rather they come to me."

"Hm. What about me?"

"What about you, doll?"

"I didn't come to you."

Loki grinned at her and shifted, setting his plate of food on the table and crawling into her lap. "You're right. You didn't. But you didn't refuse my first advance either." He kissed her, soft and sweet and she groaned slightly under him as he straddled her thighs. "You opened right up to me." He muttered, kissing her on the nose. "You didn't tell me no," He kissed her lips again and she reached around, tangling her fingers in his hair. "You played so sweetly, and you sang so nicely." He muttered against her mouth, prying away from her and breathing deeply through his nose, "I could love you."

"Now, _that_ is a lie." She responded and he laughed softly, leaned into her shoulder and breathed in her scent. It was almost piney in a way- not that he'd ever tell her that.

"You should shower."

"Oh, screw you." She shoved at his chest and he laughed, pulled a way and waggled his brows.

"Couch is off limits. Unless you wanna break some rules…"

"Maybe a couple. Come here." Taylor tugged him back into another kiss and he grinned, returning it and internally relaxing at his success in changing the topic.

"You have two seconds before I kick you to the curb, Tay."

Taylor groaned and attempted to pull away, Loki not giving her the chance to get decent as he chased her lips, casting a glance towards the doorway behind them as Phoenix stepped through, rolling her eyes.

"I know you hear me, asshole."

"What was that?" Loki tugged away, "Oh, Phoenix. I didn't even see you there," Rolling off Taylor's lap, he didn't bother fixing the buttons on the shirt that Angela had bought him.

"You're an ass."

"Hm?" Loki stretched out, rolling his shoulders and yawning dramatically, "Oh. My shirt. Silly me."

"Tay, your mom called. She wants you home tonight."

"Of course she does." Taylor sighed heavily, getting to her feet and stepping up behind him. "Since you're half out right now…"

Loki started to say something, making a sound- _not a squeak. Loki does not squeak_\- when his shirt was suddenly tugged off from behind, exposing him to the room in the silk lace bra he had stolen from Angela who unfortunately rounded the doorframe, face flushing as she quickly turned away. "Clothes, Lo- wait is that mine?" The still flushed woman turned back around, eyes narrowing a bit. "You stole my bra?"

"What?"

"It's like two sizes too big and you're a board."

"Yeah well it's soft. Taylor, what are you doing?"

"Checking your back. How do the bruises feel?"

"Well now that you remind me? They still hurt. Like hell. Thanks for asking. Can I have my shirt back?"

In truth the bruises hadn't hurt much since the second day but he didn't like thinking about them. He'd realized they weren't bruises. Much like the mark in his chest, the tattoo on his neck, and the sigil of Athena on his ankle -that he didn't remember the origins of-, they were scars on his soul. Scars he couldn't begin to imagine the roots of.

Something he was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

"Stay out of my room."

"Wasn't in your room. It was in your laundry. When I did laundry yesterday I borrowed it." Loki pulled the shirt back on quickly, buttoning it up and glancing over at the show on the screen before back at Phoenix. "So, Taylor's leaving?"

"Afraid so. Her mom wants to take her to her job interview in the morning."

"A job? Gross."

"Humans have to do these things, Lo." Taylor responded, patting his back -just above where he knew the markings were- and making her way towards the other two. "If you don't have any luck finding your powers you might want to consider it."

"If things don't change pretty soon I'm looting my bank. I'm more than happy to take advantage of you, but also, I would love to have my own money to my name." Again, not really true. If things didn't change soon he was going to work towards finding himself some Winchesters. With said money he could hire a PI and track himself down an Impala. Look for crazy. They'd either kill him or help him.

"Your bank?"

"Of course. I plan ahead. I have an account setup in the off chance that I'm trapped as a human, woman or man. Gabe and Lola Stark, happy husband and wife with their noses thoroughly embedded in the stock markets. What? You take me for an idiot? I do stupid things, there was always a chance I ended up human."

Phoenix and Taylor were both staring at him, Angela shaking her head and leaving the room.

"But- taxes? You've been-"

"I pay well, girls. Now. I'm going to finish my breakfast. Have fun being human." Loki waved them off as he collapsed onto the couch.

"I'm not leaving." Phoenix spoke up, shoving his legs to the side as he sat at the other end of the couch. Loki hummed as he moved his legs into her lap. "I want to talk, Lo."

"I don't want to listen. I wanna watch my girls dance around each other like strippers. Maybe a few death threats."

"Dude." Sighing, Loki took the remote and pressed the pause button, listening to the sound as the alarm alerted them to the front door locking. "You looked like someone killed your best friend this morning."

"Between us, alright?" Loki held Phoenix's gaze as she nodded. "Kali."

"The Goddess?"

_"-Kali, no more tricks. I'm begging you, don't do this."_

_"I have to."_

_"Can't blame me for trying. Still love me?"_

"Kali was my wife. For a long time, she was my wife and I loved her fiercely."

"I thought-"

"After… the incident with Váli and Narfi I was tied to three stones. Sigyn was with me there for the beginnings of it until I ordered her to leave. I have never loved anyone. Not in the way I loved my wife. And when I finally convinced Sigyn to leave… she returned to me. She came back with a new name and identity, a whole new set of powers and she freed me."

"Sigyn is Kali."

"Yes." Loki confirmed and closed his eyes. "We separated for a long time after that. I was angry at her, but not because of what she did. I was angry at her for _why_ she did it. She wanted to jumpstart Ragnarök. Kali, destroyer of worlds. She had no idea what she was saying, though. The world was too young for Ragnarök. I was too young. So I told her no. It was on that day that I decided that it would never pass. I would never be responsible for the end of the world. Kali… was angry. We separated."

"You still love her."

"Of course."

_"Still love me?"_

"I may be promiscuous, but I love her. I will always love her." It was a hard thing to admit these things. Things he had never spoken to anyone else because Kali had wanted her secret kept. There was a burning betrayal in him that he couldn't place, something that left a sour taste in his mouth every single time that he thought of his wife.

"Have you-"

"Yes. But I can count the others on one hand." _Athena, Azeban, and Yaya. _"I'm not an easy person to love, Phoenix. I'm a coward and I'm a dick."

"You can't be a complete coward. You stood up to Chad."

"Chad's a bigger dick." Loki responded with a grin. "And by Odin I wish I could shove his ass through some of my favorite hellspaces."

"Whenever you do, can I sit on the sidelines?"

"If you tell me what exactly he did to you- and don't give me some crap about the normal family drama."

"The truth?" Phoenix bit her lip, closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Chad tortured me growing up. Not just the typical sibling torment but actual psychologically scarring torture. The worst part of it all was Chad was 'normal'. Chad wore suits and tuxedos and didn't wear makeup, so he was the perfect child. Chad could do no wrong."

"Let me add your parents to that list." Loki muttered, shifting around so he could sit next to Phoenix, leaning into her side. There was a tenseness to Phoenix when he did so but he didn't back off, knowing full well that if she wanted him to move, she would tell him.

"The first time he attacked me physically, we were nine. We had a treehouse in the back. My spermdonor paid some Mexican dude to build the thing. I told Chad his hair was pretty, you know, because it was. At the time I idolized my big brother's looks. But Chad wasn't happy about that. He called me a- and well pushed me out of the tree. I broke my leg and my wrist and when I told the creators what happened they didn't believe me. Because Chad would _never_ do something like that. Chad was a good boy."

"I'll skin them alive for you." Loki told him, surprised by the fierce protectiveness in his own tone as he wrapped his arms around Phoenix, leaning into her side and breathing in the faint scent of ozone that he'd guessed would come from the firebird.

"Hands up," Phoenix warned him and he chuckled softly as he pulled his other arm up to wrap around his side.

"Can't blame a girl for trying."

"I really can't." Phoenix surrendered, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and sighing softly. "Why did you appear in such a hot body."

"Because I'm a vain creature?" Loki asked, eyes widening when Phoenix turned and gave him a quick kiss before disengaging himself completely. "You're a tease."

"And you're a brat. I'm going to take a dip in the water."

"It's twenty degrees out."

"Jacuzzi in the master bedroom. I'll let you join me if you keep your hands to yourself."

"I'll keep my hands to myself if we skinny dip."

"Hm… Fine." Phoenix conceded and he grinned broadly, jumping to his feet and heading down the hall.

"Someone's excited."

"I've wanted to see you naked since I got here, firebird!" He responded with a lot more honesty than he'd expected.

Phoenix kept surprising him.

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

Loki groaned as he woke up, body aching in a way it hadn't in a really long time. Everything was tingling and numb and he frowned, blinked black spots from his vision and tried to remember where he was.

_The hell…_ He swallowed, mouth dry and… there was something between his teeth, cloth. Some sort of thick fabric. As he tried to move he started to become aware of something else.

Something was _very_ wrong. The room he was in was nearly pitch black, only a dim light coming from somewhere to his right that lit up the concrete ceiling he was staring at.

_"This was a horrible idea." Loki snickered, resisting every damned instinct in him. "By Odin you're gorgeous."_

_"Mhm." Phoenix wasn't in the least bit modest as she stretched out on her half, tucking her arms behind her head and leaning back in the small jacuzzi, stretching her legs out to poke at his feet._

_Maybe he wasn't the one teasing anymore._

_"How opposed are you to the idea of having sex, bird-girl? Really. I want to know." Loki licked his lips and Phoenix grinned at him._

_"As opposed as I've been since the start."_

_"You haven't been super clear on-"_

_The loud and obnoxious doorbell chimed, cutting him off and Phoenix frowned, groaned. "I have to get that."_

_"No you don't." But Phoenix was already getting up, grabbing a towel off the floor and wrapping it around her torso._

Loki inhaled sharply when he moved the wrong way, something sharp poking into his right side and causing him to jolt away only to hit something similar on the other side. Shifting uncomfortably he returned to where he had been at the start, breathing rapidly and trying hard not to panic.

Phoenix. Where was Phoenix?

More importantly… where was he?

_Watching the clock on the wall, Loki frowned. Ten minutes had passed and Phoenix was nowhere to be seen. Who had been at the door? It wasn't like Phoenix to disappear like that, to leave him alone in their room._

_Considering his options for a moment he surrendered and pried himself from the heat of the tub, grabbing Angela's silk robe from the hook and wrapping it around himself before tiptoeing into the hallway. His hair stood up on the back of his neck and something screamed at him _wrong_._

_"Hey, birdie? Bird-girl!"_

_When no one responded Phoenix bit his cheek, ducked into the spare bedroom that he'd been nosing in the day before and grabbed the pistol. A Ruger P90 with six bullets in the chamber and a box hidden in a drawer. When he'd asked Taylor about it she hadn't known anything which meant it must've been Angela's._

_If something was off like he thought, he would kiss her._

_"Phoenix? This isn't funny!" He called as he hit the bottom step._

_"You're right. It's hilarious." A voice resounded from behind him before a weight slammed into his skull, blackness consuming him._

He grunted behind the gag as he remembered- sort of. Everything was fuzzy and unclear, especially the part that led him to the current position but based off of his state he was willing to guess he was drugged.

_I'm naked._ The room wasn't cold thankfully but he wasn't happy with the state. Not when he was tied up and being held prisoner.

Not when he remembered the voice he'd heard.

_Hey, Fenrir. Told you I wouldn't pray, know it's probably a waste of time but… well, screw it. I really need your help, kid. Anything would be appreciated._

Just as he'd expected, nothing happened and he inhaled deeply. A weight was settled on his chest and his frowned when he realized that weight was moving. Breathing. There was something on his chest… alive. Biting at his gag, he attempted to peer down at the creature. He found his head was strapped in place but he did have just enough maneuverability to lift his head a small bit.

A set of vibrant green cat eyes stared back at him, wide and full of humor.

_Freyja._

The cat mewed, stretching out across his chest, sharp claws cutting through the skin of his bare chest and causing him to hiss in pain.

_I didn't kill your husband._

Mewing again, the cat -fur reflecting gold in the light of the room- disappeared from his sight with a small thud on the floor.

There was some clattering from somewhere behind him, muffled by either a wall or a door, and then a slow chittering, a clank.

The room illuminated with a new light as the creaking of metal signaled a door opening. _Click_.

A gun.

_Boring_.

Freyja hissed from the floor and his captor made a sound. Soft and confused. "How did you get in here, little thing?" The familiar voice asked, low and surprised. Pitying and slightly cold.

A loud crack resounded, echoing in the room and earning a yowl from the cat on the floor -not that a bullet could kill the Goddess- and leaving his ears ringing violently.

"Shame." The voice mused almost too low for him to hear past the ringing in his ears. There was motion out of his peripheral of his captor moving past his right, a loud thud as a boot collided with flesh. "I could ungag you," He continued and Loki flinched away as warm metal tapped his foot. The barrel of a gun. A gun he knew was loaded now.

If it was Angela's, that meant it had five bullets left. If it was his captor's… well he didn't have a clue.

"But something tells me you wouldn't shut your mouth."

"Phoenix." He tried to get through the gag, playing off like he was less worried about his own wellbeing than he actually was.

Because, hello? He was absolutely more concerned with his own wellbeing at the moment.

"Don't worry about the whore." Loki screamed then, caught off guard at the sudden crack of the gun.

The bullet through his ankle.

Even when his vision was blurred by the tears, he could see the face as he came closer. A sob ripped past his lips as someone leaned over him, eyes glistening with amusement beneath the small splatter of blood across his face.

Chad looked absolutely enthralled.

* * *

**I have a headcanon that the shrieking that we hear when Lucifer jailbreaks is Lucifer speaking to Sam and that Sam can actually understand Lucifer's True Voice since he is his True Vessel. This information holds no plac****e in this story but I thought I'd mention it anyways.**

**Sigyn being Kali is the only other case of me combining two deities in this series.**


	17. 17 - Survive

**_To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering._**

**_~ Friedrich Nietzsche_**

_The sky was thrumming, crackling, living, breathing. The coyote sat across from the wolf, lonely, afraid, empowered. The bluebird arrived in a fluttering of silken feathers, chirped softly as it landed in between the beasts. Small and frail among the large hounds. Sharp, tiny breaths of air that were joined with breaths of frost as its warm breath touched the cool air. _

_The beasts limped to their feet. The wolf whining pitifully as its weight came down on one of its hind legs. The coyote fared better though still moved with a limp as the beasts began to circle the bird, moving through snow and ice with whimpers and whines as the bird watched from the center, chattering softly, feathers puffing out. _

_The hounds stalked the bird yet didn't at all. Something between two predators stalking their prey and a slow approach to a wounded animal._

_Almost ironic._

_The two hounds moved closer, snow crunching beneath padded feet, small flurries of snow whipping up behind the bluebird, moving and breathing. As though the bird was flapping two sets of large wings rather than standing between two injured beasts, jumping around, chattering. As though the beasts could understand its words. Its desperate calls._

_On the outskirts three other creatures lurked, watched the animals move around each other. The group waited, patient and aged. Curious. Interested in what the outcome might be. When it may arise._

_The hounds pounced._

_The bird flew._

_**Survive.**_


	18. 18 - Coyote

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

Coyote wrapped a scarf around her face, tucking it carefully over her ears and the base of her neck as she moved. The truck was skittering a bit as her newest companion drove across the snow.

"Are you sure you're prepared for this?"

Coyote picked up one of the knives from the floorboard, tucked it into the belt of her pants. "I'm older than you can truly comprehend. I'm more than prepared to fight a bunch of shifters."

"How's your shoulder?"

Biting her cheek, Coyote reached up, touched the tender spot on her shoulder. "I'll live."

"I really wish you'd let me disinfect that." Slange frowned and she rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. You are human now, right? Infections-"

"I'll be fine, Slange. Your brother is the bigger concern. He's full blooded human…" Pausing, Coyote turned her head and stared firmly at the side of Slange's slanted face as he focused on tailing the snow that held the footprints of the snow. "Trem is human, right?"

"No." Slange responded bluntly, grip tightening visibly on the wheel. "Trem is a skinwalker as well."

"Why didn't he tell me?" Why did she feel so betrayed? It had only been a week. It wasn't him to tell her his entire backstory. Still…

"Trem rarely talks about his condition. It's easier that way. Don't feel betrayed. It took him six years to tell me what had happened to him." Six years.

"He told me he had been out here for six years."

"Yes. I guess after he was turned he was freaked out enough that he came out here. Not that I really blame him. He's… happier out here."

"He told me… that he came out here after his dad died."

"It's complicated," Slange responded evasively as wolves howled in the distance, not quite as close as they'd been when they were outside the cabin. "I know what you're talking about and… well, dad's death was on him. Not Trem. But my brother blamed himself and I think that may have led to whatever turned him."

"You don't know, though."

"No. Trem's been really reclusive since dad died. Hence the living in the dead middle of nowhere."

"Well… he saved my life. So that counts for something good coming from everything." In theory. "If he's like them, how would they have taken him?"

"The how isn't the question." Slange responded, "It's the why. From what I know, Trem had a deal with their leader. There should not have been a reason for him to be attacked, much less kidnapped."

"Unless it's me." Coyote muttered, picking up a gun from between them and letting unpracticed fingers slide across smooth metal. "They've been louder. Trem told me they were unusually active. He figured it was the weather or the… he was lying, wasn't he?"

"It is very likely so," Sighing, Slange's grip shifted. "Trem you idiot. I _told_ you this would happen." Coyote zoned out as Slange went into a mutter rant against his brother, her gaze flicking to the outside world. The snow was thick and flew out from under the tires in droves as they drove through the snowy wilderness of the place she had been for a week. The snow was her enemy, she hated the cold wet not quite frozen stuff and she wanted nothing more than to move south. To go… well anywhere without snow. A nice humid or dry environment. Maybe… Louisiana? Where was Louisiana located? It felt right, though she didn't know why. The world was a new one that she still didn't fully understand, even when strange little details slipped through like that slipped through her knowledgebase.

"Do you hear that?" Slange asked her suddenly and she blinked, tilted her head and frowned. Except for the hum of the engine, the soft sound of tires digging through snow, silence.

"They're quiet."

"I don't think we're going to have to fight our way in." Slange muttered. "I don't like this. I shouldn't have brought you with me."

"I'm not a child."

"No. You're a Goddess without her-"

"I'm a _God_ without her power, it doesn't make me some fragile little creature, Slange. I can handle my own." Though the gun was a questionable one. None of her muscle memory seemed to be connected to it. "And if it helps any. I'm in a man's body. Strong, powerful man. I beat up beasts and feast on weak men for breakfast." Coyote didn't need to look over to know that Slange rolled his eyes at that one. An action she felt herself performing without meaning to.

"If you die, Trem will never forgive me."

"Well, then the answer's simple. I don't die." Something niggled at her mind, a warning that she very well _could_ die here. That bitter sense of mortality warning her to be careful, to not be an idiot for a man she barely knew. Except her moral sense of judgement simply couldn't leave Trem. She owed her life to this man. If not for him listening to some cryptic message by an angel, she would have frozen to death. Human or not, he had done something out of pure blind faith.

She owed him.

"Whatever you say. For now, I want you to follow my lead."

"I can do that."

"I'm going to talk to them. Whatever their problem is, there's been a deal in place for years now."

"We both know what the problem is."

Silence fell between them.

"I'm the alternative variable. They didn't want him having anyone else here. That was the problem. That's the issue."

"It doesn't explain why they have him, not you."

"Trem was gone when I woke up. All that was here was…" Swallowing, Coyote shut her eyes. "An old friend."

"An old friend?"

"Yes. But he can't help." _Or won't._ Some bitter of her mind spoke up and she shook her head. No. Crow would never willingly leave her. Whatever was happening… he wasn't allowed to be involved.

Which begged the big question of, the age-old question. One simple word. _Why_?

"I'd imagine your old friends would be Gods." The lanky man gave her a look she couldn't begin to put words to.

"His name is Crow." Coyote admitted, chest tight as she looked back out the window. There were wolves in the treeline now. Skirting between trunks and watching them from afar. If it wasn't for the movement they would've blended with the snow, fur soft and white as the snow beneath their feet. "And before you ask, he wasn't a lover."

"I didn't think that." And she believed him. "If he's a God, why do you think he can't get involved?"

"I don't know." She admitted. The worst statement in the world. A phrase that had been haunting her since she woke up. "But I know that if he could, he would." If she had faith in anything, it was Crow.

"That's a lot of faith for a once-God."

"Faith is all I have." Faith was what she'd lived off of during her time. Probably a dead faith, but still faith. Now she had to put that same faith that hundreds of humans had possessed for her into her closest friend, her longest surviving friend.

Her family.

"I hope faith is enough to keep us from getting mauled to death by angry wolves." The dense woods they'd come into started to break up again. Opening into a clearing with about fourteen of the wolves circling it. The middle held a small manmade hut that Coyote was familiar with the design of. "This is not going to go well."

"Have faith in yourself, Slange." Coyote clucked her tongue as the car rolled to a stop.

"Faith." Snorting, Slange checked his gun before tucking it into his belt, grabbed another one and checked it. "I lost faith years ago."

Shrugging, Coyote stared at the gun in her hand. "I don't know how to use these." Coyote admitted, basking in the calm moment. The pack was confident enough that they didn't stop. Or whoever this leader was had ordered them to wait.

"I didn't expect you to. You can wield knives pretty well, though. I guess I do have faith," When she looked over, Slange was smiling crookedly. "Faith in you, you weird little ex-God."

"Faith is faith." Smiling softly, she looked down when he reached under his chair, pulled out a strange silver blade. The hilt was round and smooth, shifting into a long oddly shaped blade that niggled at part of her mind.

_The silver of the blade glistened in the dim light of the hotel. Before them was a man, taller than them. In front of the man was a perfect copy of them, speaking while their mind soared with the flutter of a hundred thousand bird wings._

_A single question resounded through their mind. On repeat. 'Is this the right thing to do?'_

Coyote inhaled sharply, squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as she grabbed the blade. Now was not the time for that. Now was not the time for obscure memories she couldn't place.

"Are you okay?"

"I- no but it doesn't matter." Breathing deeply, she ground her teeth together. "Let's go." Coyote carefully pushed open the door, flinching away at the biting cold that ripped across her skin as several wolves growled from the edge of the clearing.

They didn't come for her.

"Coyote!" Slange hissed from behind her as she trudged through the snow, boots crunching through the not-quite-ice as she moved. The blade in her hand almost felt like a part of her, smooth, familiar. Despite that knowledge she had no recollection of ever seeing anything like it. It was a foreign object, yet it all but thrummed beneath her fingers.

Shaking it off, she pressed through the curtain covering the entrance.

The inside was simple, a ragged pile of cloth in the corner that might have been a bed. In the middle of the room sat a small woman, gorgeous, bright nearly crimson eyes. Her smile was all teeth, sharp and inhuman.

"Where is he?"

"Mmm. Where are your manners, girl?" Coyote started to say something, stopping halfway and narrowing her eyes at the woman before her.

Because as far as anyone was concerned, she was a man.

"Who are you." It wasn't a question. It was a statement and there was a brush of motion at her back as someone came up behind her.

She didn't need to turn to know this was Slange behind her.

"That's my secret, little girl." Licking her lips, the girl moved gracefully to her feet, smirked.

"Where's my brother?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Coyote stepped up into the woman's personal space, the woman raising a brow and staring down at her. The woman was _tall_. Shockingly tall. Tall enough that even in her male body, she had to look up. "From what I know, you aren't generally into touchy feely, girl." A hand came around, gripped the back of her hair and she growled, flinched away from the contact but held the woman's gaze. "In fact. From what I've heard… you're a virgin."

"My sexual inclinations mean nothing here."

"Oh, but they do!" The woman leaned in, brought their heads uncomfortably close together, whispered softly in her ear. "Considering we're so much alike. I know you, Coyote. Shying away from the touch of others, preferring friendship, companionship."

"Where. Is. He." Coyote hissed out, swallowed heavily as she shoved at the woman's chest. The grip in her hair didn't release but the woman humored her, separated a bit and smiled sweetly.

"I'll tell you. But I want to make a deal."

"My _soul_ isn't on the table."

"Oh, that's a shame." The hand disappeared from her hair, "How about you, scrawny boy?"

"Unless," Coyote through in, lying her ass off and earning a smirk from the woman as she returned her focus from Slange.

"Don't-"

"I know what I'm doing, Slange. Quiet." Coyote warned. "Not here. Take me to your domain." With a mischievous -or maybe feral- grin, the scene around them flickered and suddenly she was basked in warmth, not nearly the level that her bones longed for but still warmth. Heat.

Her eyes closed on their own and she resisted the urge to get lost in it. The air smelled faintly of oak and pine, overgrown grass rustled beneath their feet and the chittering of birds could be heard in the distance. It was a sweet sound, bittersweet as her eyes flicked open. A forest, large, bright. Beautiful.

"How did you know who I am?"

"Everyone knows who you are." Was the not-answer she received.

"Who are you?"

"One of the virgin goddesses." Yet another not-answer came, the deity seemed more at ease in her domain, eyes raking across the sky. It was a construct illusion but it felt so _real_. She could faintly taste the humidity in the air, so much different from the constant chilling frozen taste of Alaska.

"Are you going to answer my questions?"

"When you give me a reasonable deal, sure. I've grown ever so fond of bargaining." Coyote watched the goddess as she turned her back, stepped through the brush and knelt to pick up a soft creature from the ground, an animal her mind identified as a hare.

It was risky.

"I'll bargain… if you tell me why you want my soul."

"I can do that." The woman hummed, turned around as she pet the hare, smoothing back the fur on the top of its skull. "Your soul, Coyote… it is a piece to one of the most powerful puzzles in creation."

"That isn't possible. I'm just another Trickster."

The woman pressed a finger to her lips, grinning at her.

"That isn't an answer."

"It is absolutely an answer. You didn't ask for details. Now give me a deal. Tell me how I'm going to buy your soul."

"Unless." Coyote repeated the statement firmly, "You want a fun deal, right? I can do that."

"And why should I trust that?"

"Because I'm a Trickster." Coyote smiled broadly. "If there's anything I can do, it's have fun."

The woman gave her an amused look and spread her free hand to the side, "Alright. I'll listen. But only because I _really_ want to see where you're going with this."

"My offer is this." Coyote breathed deeply through her nose, "The location of Trem, for the guaranteed safe passage of all of us leaving here. Trem's _safety_ when he returns home, no turning your pack on him. His deal stays sound. All of that, and you get to own my soul." The woman's eyes lit with a victory at the offer and she hoped that she was right about this because those terms were dangerous terms. "_Unless_," Coyote added, watching as the woman perked, watched her closely. "I can guess your name."

"Hmm." The woman hummed, set the hare on the ground and put her hands on her hips. "You want to play Rumpelstiltskin with me?"

"Three tries, I fail, you lose nothing."

"And if you win?"

"I get everything I asked for and you get nothing. Come on, _woman_. I know you're at least a little curious if you can do it. I know you're interested."

"No." Biting her lip, the scenery flicked and they were in a cave. "I want something else. You want to bargain, I'll bargain, but I want something else in the end."

"What do you want?" Something niggled at the back of her mind in warning, something she ignored. Now was not the time to doubt herself. Not when she felt comfortable in her skin for the first time since her arrival.

"I want _you_. No, not like that. I want you, though. I want you body and soul to take to the next auction. Alone, your soul's worth a fortune. With you included? Oh, the offers I'll get."

Her stomach churned at the prospect but she was pretty confident in the details she'd picked up. There were currently six major contenders. One a major stretch.

"What are you now? A demon?"

The woman wrinkled her nose and gave her a purely disgusted look. "May the Shades save you." Not helpful. "Those Christ demons are bottomfeeders. I'd rather be compared to a _daemon_ than those _kalės vaikas_. Be careful what you say to the one you're bargaining with."

"Sorry," Coyote held her hands to the side, trying to pinpoint that dialect but coming up blank. Some part of her felt she should _know_. "I'm just trying to understand. I'm missing a lot of memories. Many years."

"Such a shame." The woman didn't sound like she meant it.

"I need a bit of time and- can you bring Slange here? I need to-"

"No. You don't get a hand in this, but I will give you time. You have an hour. I'll even let you explore my domain." Coyote didn't buy that anything she found now would be of use to give her an idea of who she was working with but it was worth playing along.

Keeping the illusion.

_Virgin._

_Woman._

_Hares._

_Wolves._

_Recognized me._

Diana was an option, though not overtly ideal. Most of the Romans had always kept to themselves, preferred privacy over making themselves known. Was it worth risking one of her guesses for that particular goddess?

Yes.

Coyote lifted her gaze to meet the woman before her, "Diana."

A smile curled on the woman's lips, a smile that screamed _nice try_.

_Crow, help me. _Biting her lip, she turned away and made her way out of the cave into the chilled exterior of the cave. Not the same environment she'd been in before, rougher, more bitter.

"Two more guesses, girl."

"Do I get any hints?"

"I feel I've been more than generous." Which meant no. Unless she could keep the woman talking. Conversation was the key here. Keeping whoever this was talking meant receiving information. There weren't a huge number of Goddesses that would know her, even less associated with hounds.

Hecate? No. She needed to think broader. This woman had made a point about her change of views.

"Tick tock."

This woman wasn't by origins malevolent. This was new. Something that had come from boredom- or lack of worship. _Artemis_.

No.

_The hare_.

Could it be Artemis? Something foreign niggled at the back of her mind. A big _no_. For some unknown reason she was _certain_ Artemis couldn't be here. It felt _right_.

So no.

"Holda." The name fell from her lips without her thinking about it and she flinched as a clock ticking began to sound around her. "That wasn't a guess."

"You said the name." The woman purred as she moved through the brush. The goddess wasn't with her, but the voice echoed around her like she was speaking from all sides. Her stomach churned slightly with dread. One name. One final name.

Two words could have given it to her. A region. Her eyes fell closed. _A religion_. That was what she needed. It was something she needed desperately.

_'Help_._'_

**_'Help me.'_** Her breathing hitched at the voice in her head, hers- but not.

_'I… who are you?'_

**_'Who are you?'_** She couldn't answer that question, the word not coming to her mind despite the simple answer. **_'I need help. Please. I'm – and I'm being tortured by-. Please.'_**

The words cut out strangely, like certain information was being deliberately kept from her. Who was this? Why was she hearing them?

_'I… I need you to help me. I'll do what I can for you but you have to help me with something.' _Silence fell for a long moment and when the voice returned it was whimpering softly, she wanted to wrap her arms around whoever this person was and hug them, unsure why.

**_'I… what do you need?'_**

_'Kalės vaikas.'_

There was something resembling a laugh over the telepathic connection, **_'Nice to know strangers in my head are assholes too.'_**

_'What language is it?'_

**_'Lithuanian.' _**The voice responded and her eyes widened, a grin breaking across her expression. **_'Now you owe me. A deal's a deal.'_**

_'I promise. Where are you?'_

**_'Northeastern America… Michigan. Look for - and -. Tell them it's -, okay? Can you do that?'_** Her throat closed when the very important details cut from the statement. But she didn't have time for this conversation. She _didn't_. And as much as she wanted more information. As much as she _needed_ to know

There wasn't time.

_'I will find you.'_

**_'Please… hurry. It hurts.'_**

The connection seemed to crack apart and she breathed deeply.

"I have the answer." Coyote breathed, lifting her gaze as the woman appeared before her again. Beautiful, so beautiful. The kind of beauty that Coyote would never be properly interested in.

"Do you?"

"Yes." Coyote answered, crossed her arms over her chest. "Your name. It is Medeina." Her eyes bugged out of her skull.

"That's not possible."

"We've met once. When we were still young. Crow took me to see you. You were friends."

"'Were' is the keyword." Medeina scowled, glaring at her.

"Where is he?"

"Who? Crow?" Snorting, Medeina grinned at her with all teeth. "Crow's gone, Coyote girl. Crow's gone." Clapping her hands together, the sound of thunder cracked around them. "Dead."

"That's a lie."

"No_pe_." Medeina emphasized her statement by popping the P, looking absolutely gleeful. "Guess you missed the memo. Then again… you've been dead. Tends to happen. Crow went poof! Him and the rest of your little band actually."

"No!"

"Oh, yes. Him, Huehuecoyotl. The both of them went to the scene of one of the biggest disasters to take place over the last several years and," She snapped her fingers, "They were gone. That Judeo-Christian Devil killed them all. It was… well a spectacle I'm sure."

Except Crow wasn't dead, couldn't be dead. She'd _seen_ him. He'd visited her.

"You saw him? I can see the doubts rattling around in that pretty little skull. You're human, for the time. Crow is dead, true. But echoes remain of us. What you saw was nothing more than a memory. I'd apologize but-"

Without thinking, Coyote cried out, lunged forward and drove the blade she'd been holding. Smooth hilt, sharp blade, straight into the heart of the woman before her. Bright, glowing light erupted from Medeina as the world around her shook violently.

As the Goddess' domain crumbled around her.

_Oh no._

_'I don't think you can hear me, I don't know who you are, but I can't help you. I think I'm about to die.' _Because that was how this would end. Her heart hammered violently in her ears as the body of Medeina collapsed to the ground. _'I'm sorry.'_ Tears burned in her eyes as she stumbled backwards, hugged the blade to her chest.

**_'Who are you?'_**

_'Coyote.'_ Silence fell as the ground collapsed from beneath her feet.

_Falling, crashing and ripping through the darkness. Their being lit up in flames as they fell._

"Crow!"

* * *

**Lithuanian google translation for context: kalės vaikas – sons of bitches (sort of)**


	19. 19 - Gabriel

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

_"Gabriel- what the hell?" The hunter stumbled back, bug eyed and Gabriel recoiled back against the wall. What had he just done?_

_"I don't know."_

_"You kissed me- what… why the hell…"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Gabriel-"_

_"It was- it was _Cagn_ and… I don't know why I kissed you. I'm sorry, Sam. I just- something came over me." Silence settled across them like a blanket of snow and Gabriel covered his face with his hands as it heated violently. "I'm sorry."_

_"I don't know whether to be insulted or not." He looked up to see Sam kneeling in front of him as he gripped him by his shoulder. "What happened?"_

_"It was Cagn."_

_"Cagn was here? Why?"_

_"To make fun of me?" Gabriel asked more than stated, not completely sure about what had transpired. "It was strange. All of it was."_

_"Did he hurt you?" Snorting, Gabriel shook his head. "Had to ask."_

_"I kissed you, Sam."_

_"I know."_

_Gabriel looked at the floor again. For some reason Sam was completely unbothered by this fact._

_"Look, man. It's not like you tried to kill me. It was a kiss."_

_"I've- I mean…"_

_Sam was quiet for a moment before the grip on his shoulder tightened. "You've never kissed someone. That was what you said, right? Cagn's the only one you remember."_

_"Yes." Sam chuckled softly and he huffed an annoyed breath. "Don't make fun of me."_

_"I'm not. Really, I promise. It's just… well when we first met you, you were definitely not some delicate virgin."_

_"Ass." Gabriel's gaze shifted up to see Sam's grin._

_"You were telling me about Cagn."_

_"Yeah…" Breathing deeply, he nodded, began to retell the younger Winchester what happened._

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

"I'm Special Agent Page and this is my partner Special Agent Plant." Dean introduced them both to the woman at the door, grinning at her. The blonde woman stared back at him unamused.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, we're here about the death of your mother." The woman stared back blankly for a moment before grimacing.

"Right. That."

"She was found shot on forty fifth street."

"I know. Sorry- just kinda a fresh wound, you know." _She killed her._ If not given for the current situation, the thought would've been a rash one. But considering the things they'd seen since they got there… it wasn't that rash. The last two days had escalated and just because Charlie had been smart enough to figure out _what_ they were hunting. It hadn't been enough to magically pinpoint the daemon's location. Dean had been hopeful that Gabriel would know about them but the information on the daemons was all but absent from his memories and Castiel didn't know the first thing about them.

"I can imagine," Dean lied through his teeth. "We just have to ask some routine questions. Get down the basics."

She made a face, "I already went through this with the locals."

"Federal investigation. I really am sorry about this, miss." He wasn't sorry but the woman relented anyways, fully opening the door and allowing them to step into her house. The inside was a mess, nothing like the exterior that was well kept and cared for. There was clutter piled into corners, two cats skittered through the living room piled full of more stuff, none of the seating available, and into another room as she led them down the short hallway to the dining room. A bit of stuff was moved into a new pile as she removed several objects from the chairs and gestured impatiently at them to take a seat.

Gabriel _really_ didn't want to sit down.

"Nice… stuff?" Dean asked more than said as he took a seat, Gabriel following the motion with a bit of reluctance.

"It's junk." The woman said blandly. "Can I see those badges again?" Both of them offered the fake badges and she pulled some small glasses from her pocket to look at them closely. "What do you need to know about the bitch?"

Frowning, Dean took his badge back as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe to stare them down. "I take it you weren't on good terms with your mother?"

"Putting it nicely? I didn't get along with her. Putting it honestly, I hated the woman. I didn't kill her. I wish I had. But I didn't."

"That's a pretty bold statement considering that you're talking to-"

"-hunters." The woman finished, giving Dean a hard look.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Save it, Dean Winchester. I know all about you and your pretty little face." The woman never smiled, just stared at the hunter. "My mother was a witch. She consorted with demons, it wasn't my game."

"Ugh." Dean made a face and Gabriel resisted the urge to laugh. He knew just as well as anyone that knew the hunter how much he hated witches. "So you're saying you didn't kill her?"

"Check your crime scene. I thought it was a hunter that did it."

"We're the only hunters in town." Gabriel spoke up, looking her over.

"Then I guess you should look into her cause of death. It's not me. Like I said. Wish it was."

"Forgive me if I don't believe it's that simple."

"Look. I ain't into none of that devil worship crap. She auctioned my soul off like it wasn't the most important thing I had. So, no. I'm not a fan."

"She auctioned off your soul?" Gabriel interrupted before Dean could. "That's not possible."

"Apparently it is, new Hell regime and all that. I was seventeen when she did it."

"But- why would a demon want your soul?"

Biting her cheek, the woman blinked, looking at them with milky grey eyes. "My father was a demon."

"You're a cambion?" Dean asked, baffled.

"Mom wanted to do more, she did this. I was born and she tried to use me. Thing is… I never wanted to be used. I'm a free spirit, I don't like being told what to do. So I told her no. And for a long time, she couldn't make me her little puppet. About a week before my eighteenth birthday one of the demons told her she could auction me off."

"But you're here."

"I'm warded to high hell. I haven't left my house in four years. If I step outside, a demon collects on my mom's deal so I actually _couldn't_ kill my mother."

"Can you prove that?"

"I actually can." The woman stepped out for a moment and Dean looked at him.

"Do you buy it?"

"It would be better if we had Castiel come and verify but the story seems inaccurate. Cambions are meant to be extremely powerful."

"So are you but here you are. Look, I'm not saying I believe her but what bothers me is the way she died. If she's as strong as she should be, there wouldn't be a body."

"It's because it wasn't me." The woman tossed a bag in Dean's lap and he frowned, unzipped it and pulled it open.

"Receipts?"

"Delivery receipts. Going back four years. I'm not your problem, your problem is the locals."

Dean dug through the bag, looking through them carefully.

"So you mentioned that Hell has a new regime?" Gabriel pressed and the woman grimaced.

"The King."

"Crowley?" Dean frowned at the woman, lifting his head from where it was pointed down at the bag. The woman responded with a simple shrug, uncaring.

"I don't keep track of Hell's politics. I told ya. I don't like getting involved in that crap."

"If you were to _guess_?"

"From my understanding, Crowley's been running Hell since you and your brother shoved Lucifer back in his Cage." Was the very unhelpful answer. "I don't know anyone else that was vying for the throne, but I don't know much about Hell's state."

"What about daemons, with an a?" Gabriel asked and she frowned at him.

"They're extinct?"

"Gods don't go extinct."

"They aren't gods- and even then, gods do too. The whole Roman Pantheon was slaughtered by the Greeks from what I've heard."

"For someone out of the loop, you know quite a bit." Dean pointed out and she scowled.

"Hell's not my business. I dated Anubis when I was in high school, though. I like Pagans and Anubis loves to talk."

"Sorry if I don't trust your very contradicting story."

"Tell me something, Winchester. If I wanted ya dead? You'd be dead. I'm hiding because my soul is residing on a _very_ specifically worded contract and I'm terrified if I use my powers it will trigger it. I'm not one of the baddies. And daemons are extinct."

"How much would you bet on that?" Dean asked and the woman shut her mouth, bit her lip. "Because there's not a whole lot of things that steal souls."

"Daemons don't attack humans."

"But the lore states that when they do, they devastate human populations."

"Not exactly. The soulless humans just… they destroy themselves. The daemons will come in, and they'll go. It just takes a few soulless humans to destroy a population."

"Do you know how to find one?"

"Well…" Pressing her lips together, the woman considered them. "They aren't human like most monsters you'll hunt. They're essence of old gods. Think… demon clouds but less tangible."

"How do you kill them?"

"How do you kill a god?" The woman countered and Dean scowled.

"It depends on the type."

"Daemons are incomplete gods. You can kill them with anything you can kill a god with. I recommend pine logs to be sure, though."

"That's oddly helpful."

"Yeah, well I'm trying to prove a point. I'm not your problem. Can you leave now?"

"Just one more question," Dean responded, oddly compliant as he set the bag down. "Do you know who might have killed your mother?"

"Demons? They're probably not particularly happy with how my deal played out… though it'd been several years. Seems off that they'd wait long. You sure you're the only local hunters?"

"Positive." Dean responded, getting to his feet. "If things seem off, we'll be back."

"I'll be here. As I have been for the last four years." The woman responded, gesturing towards the door. "If you do come back, bring some intellectual conversation. Maybe your hunk of a brother." Dean scowled at her and she actually smiled a bit, looking between them. "Or yours."

Gabriel blinked, stared at her. "What?"

"You've got an aura. Angel, right? Pretty heavy warding but I can see a whole lot."

"Right…" Gabriel shared a look with Dean. The cambion could see his power? Something he hadn't really been certain were still there.

"Oh." The woman grimaced, "You didn't take out your powers."

"What do you see?"

"It's like looking at a heavy mist. I can't tell what's restraining you if that's what you wanted to know."

Gabriel hesitated, looked at her for a long moment. "My wings?" He wasn't completely sure if he wanted the answer.

The woman looked at him, tilted her head before stepping up to him, gripped him by his shoulder and carefully turned him around. The weight of her hand on his shoulder was steadying, signaled to him that she was shifting around despite the lack of necessity. "They're here. I haven't seen angel wings like this… ever."

His eyes closed. "What condition are they in?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"They look like someone deep fried them in holy oil."

_"So. Boys. Now what? We stare at each other for the rest of eternity?"_

_"Well, first of all, you're gonna bring Cas back from wherever you stashed him."_

_"Oh am I."_

_"Yeah. Or we're going to dunk you in some holy oil and deep-fry ourselves an archangel."_

"If I were you, I wouldn't try to fix your Grace until you heal them. They look like hell." Gabriel pulled away from her, turning to meet her gaze.

"I believe her, Dean."

"Just like that?"

"When I escaped Purgatory, I Fell. There are not many things that can see my true form. If she's not a cambion, she's some other half-breed."

"Which is supposed to be comforting?"

"No. But if she can see my wings, she can touch them." Gabriel held the woman's gaze, "And if she could do that and she was against us, she never would have told us."

"Lot of faith for an angel to put in a hellspawn."

"Am I wrong?"

"No."

"Then it's well placed faith." Gabriel smiled at the cambion, sidestepped around her.

"If you do figure out what's happening in Hell… I could use some saving, y'know. This deal it bullshit and I didn't make it."

"We'll try." Dean muttered as he began moving towards the door and Gabriel frowned at his brother's back.

"That's as much as I expected."

"While we were in Purgatory a cambion almost tore his throat out."

"You were in Purgatory?"

"I was." Gabriel confirmed.

"How was it?"

"Miserable." Sighing, Gabriel smiled grimly at her. "Don't expect it to be a healthy out. And don't expect me to support the idea of you 'ending your misery'."

"Just a thought." The woman responded with a sigh. "Go, then. I'll be here. As I have been for the last four years."

"I'll talk to the brothers about it. Parents aren't meant to auction their children's souls off after birth."

"I'm not human."

"No. You're more than a human and you fought your nature to be better. I could have told Dean we need to kill you, but I didn't. Stay true to you and we'll do as we can to save you."

"What angel are you?"

"Gabriel," He responded, kissing her on the forehead and pulling away. "The Archangel."

"Really?"

"Really." He confirmed, turning and following Dean down the hall.

"Goodbye, boys." The woman called from behind him and he breathed deeply through his nose.

"Goodbye, Abigail."

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

"The warding on her home is too strong for me to cross the property lines. I believe her story checks out, Dean."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be." Castiel responded as he sat down on one of the double beds next to Charlie. Eileen and Sam hadn't made it back yet but they were supposed to be on their way. "From the wards I could sense, I'm pretty certain that nothing above a human can get in or out of there. Are you certain it was a cambion, Gabriel?"

"You can't see my wings, can you?" The younger angel shook his head, frowned. "Then it was either a nephilim or a cambion. I'm willing to believe it was a cambion."

"Here's something that bothers me about this." Charlie spoke up with a frown, "What killed her mother?"

"She suggested it might have been a demon."

"But a demon in the midst of the daemon with an 'E' fiasco? Why?"

"Because when it's one thing with us, it's a hundred." Dean spoke up, giving Gabriel a look. "You still avoiding my brother or am I good to take Cas to check out the scene again?"

"I haven't been avoiding-"

"Don't try me, Gabe. Last two days you've been avoiding him. You make it weird when you slept with him?"

"No," Gabriel huffed, "And you make it sound worse than it was. You telling me that the three of us sharing a bed is 'weird'?"

"It _is_ weird. And if it wasn't bed sharing, what happened with you two? He reveal some crush he'd never told anyone about?"

"It was just a weird conversation." Gabriel lied, "It doesn't matter."

It was obvious that Dean didn't buy it, but thankfully he dropped it. "Fine. I'm taking Cas to recheck the scene. See if I can't find demon signs. Just assumed it was the other."

"Don't worry. I'll watch the Trickster." Charlie grinned and Dean rolled his eyes at her. "Don't worry, Dean."

"I'm always worried." Gabriel rolled his eyes as the hunter left the room, Gabriel grabbing Castiel before he could step outside the door.

"How are your wings?"

"Sore- but functional."

"You walked back from her house."

"Functional." Castiel repeated, gave him a long and pleading look that asked him not to press more about it. At least not in front of the audience. "There's nothing you can do."

"Stretch them, groom yourself. Or you could ask one of the angels in-"

"You know as well as I do how difficult those things are alone and I don't trust our older brothers and sisters. Thank you for trying, brother."

"It will help."

"I will see you later, Gabriel." Then the younger angel disappeared out the door, leaving him alone with Charlie for the moment. The red head gave him a long look as he opened up Sam's laptop.

"You aren't what I expected."

"I'm not who I am." He responded, "Not completely."

"No but- well… In the books, when you encountered Cas you were a bit of a dick."

"What did I do to him?" Castiel had already told him the answer to the question but he wondered if those details had made it into the prophet's rendition of the events or not.

"It doesn't say," She admitted and he grimaced. He knew Cas had been hateful towards him when they first encountered in Purgatory. Was it because of that, or was it because of his abandonment of Heaven all those years ago? "Even when you saved Sam and Dean… there was a lot of self-confidence… arrogance. Like you believed you would actually win…"

"And like my brother wouldn't kill me in cold blood?"

"He cried." She blurted and he flinched. "You were close to him?"

"Lucifer was my brother." Gabriel confirmed, turning to look at her fully. "And I did love him. But he stabbed me in the heart and for that, I will never forgive him."

"I'm sorry."

"Lucifer isn't my brother anymore, Charlie. I might feel differently once I am back to my full self, but Castiel and Dean are the ones that matter. They've protected me for- for a long time now."

"None of you will talk about exactly how long it was for you… I know Dean's tight lipped about trauma but- well I'm happy to listen."

"It's not my place to tell you that, Charlie."

"It's a shared trauma."

"It wasn't a trauma for me. It bothered me, sure but… well it wasn't trauma. It was just battles. When I was created, I was created to be a warrior and a messenger. I might not _like_ fighting, but I am more than capable."

Silence fell between them and he turned his attention to the laptop screen.

"I shouldn't have pressed."

"You were curious."

"Can I ask what _did_ happen with you and Sam?"

"I um… I kissed him." Gabriel admitted, looking blankly at the screen.

"Was it good?" Gabriel looked at her and she grinned. "What? I can be curious. Carver Edlund always avoided the details."

"It was a kiss. I don't have a lot of comparison."

"I'm not sure whether I'm ashamed or proud of Dean for not dragging you to a strip club the second he found out you're more or less a virgin."

"He tried to yesterday."

"Really?"

"I'm an angel." Gabriel repeated the statement he'd told Dean the night before.

"You're boring like this." Charlie decided, "Or maybe just incomplete. But if he tries again, send him in my direction. I'm more than happy with it."

"I'll remember that." He gave her a grateful look before looking back at his screen. "Thank you, Charlie."

"Don't mention it. So, question. You said you remember things. Do you have any ideas of any aliases you would've used?"

"No." Gabriel frowned, "In theory, he would share my body but I can imagine that if he _did_ keep his powers he would have changed looks. Considering we died with this body and what I know about my death, he would be hiding."

"Because Odin died." Charlie acknowledged and he nodded, "What if you had your powers?"

"This is me." Gabriel shrugged, "And I'm here until Cas and Dean tell me to go."

"How about aliases? False identities? Anything like that at all?"

"Not that I can think of. It's possible that if he chose a new body- oh, actually there is something." Gabriel looked at her again. "It's not an angel thing but it _is_ a soul thing."

"What is it?"

"Eyes." Gabriel responded, "I'm willing to guess I had a soul. My soul would be reflected in my eyes. So, Loki will have my eyes."

"That… doesn't help a whole lot." Charlie admitted and he shrugged as she looked at him closely. "I could put an APB out on you but it would kind of be a problem for you."

"It would probably be better if you didn't," He chuckled softly, "Hey, can you look into property records?"

"Yes." She confirmed.

"Look up… Paula Revand. We're in Colorado, right?"

"Yes."

"I think it was Denver. She would own a small house, pay a monthly fee for security."

"Is this an alias of yours?"

"It's one that I use on properties, not one I've ever used for myself."

Charlie sighed heavily and gave him a long look, "Let's back up. I need any alias you know that you've ever used for anything. Can you do that?"

"I can try." He closed his eye, digging into his memories and trying to think of every name he'd used in the last twenty years.

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

"So all we have so far is obscure information on how to find a daemon, a _demon_ with an 'E' apparently killed a witch, and Charlie found one of Gabriel's potential Grace hiding spots. None of this is exactly helpful."

"I want to take Eileen to Gabriel's house," Charlie spoke up, saying something that Gabriel had recommended to her when they were discussing it earlier.

Everyone looked at Eileen as Sam translated for her and she frowned. "Why?"

"The identity of the homeowner is a woman and it would be easier if the both of you went."

"Gabriel doesn't want one of us going alone with the chance that one of the Pagans is there." Charlie corrected him and he gave her an annoyed look that she ignored, "I think it's smart. I'd rather drag Sam or Dean along but I wouldn't mind getting to know you better."

The two women shared a long look before Eileen seemed to concede, nodding. "Okay."

"What's in this house, Gabe?"

"A part of my Grace. We can use it in a spell to track down Kevin's exact location."

"Can you not use it?"

"No. I'm human right now." Though he did plan on trying to use half of it. The spell wouldn't take a full dose. If he admitted that, though… Dean would want him to use all of it and he'd already told Sam he would help them find Kevin.

"I thought that cambion chick confirmed you weren't human."

"No. She confirmed that my True Form is still with me but I am for all intents and purposes human. I experience human functions, hunger, thirst, exhaustion and the other unpleasantries of humanity. If I was any semblance of angel, I wouldn't need to do these things on a regular basis. Castiel can't take my Grace so there's only one logical use, and we should-" Gabriel frowned, looking closely at Castiel as his gaze went distant for a moment. "Castiel?"

"I um… Someone just prayed to me."

"Who?"

Silence fell for a moment and he blinked, looked back at Gabriel. "Someone named Phoenix Bradley," He answered slowly. "He says that Loki was with him and his sister and that two days ago someone broke into his girlfriend's home and kidnapped him."

"What about-"

"He is giving me a phone number… as well as a… Skype contact?"

"I can do Skype." Sam and Charlie both announced at the same time as the younger hunter stole the laptop from in front of Dean. "Give me the name."

"SastielDreamsXOXO." Castiel repeated and Charlie snickered, earning a look of question from Gabriel and receiving a smile in response as Sam tapped into his keyboard.

"Sent the request." Sam reported, setting the laptop on the table and tapping the small phone at the top corner of the screen. A strange ringing echoed through the room and the group waited.


	20. 20 - Run

_The wolf whined pitifully, unable to move from where it lay in the shallow snow. It was battered and bruised, sad eyes watching the empty space across from it as the perplexed bluebird fluttered in._

_The feathered one landed where the coyote often was, tilted its head in confusion as it nudged at the now dry landscape. It was changed though the bird couldn't place_ why. _Why had the coyote's land changed?_

_Where was the coyote?_

_Maybe it didn't want to know._

_The wolf whimpered softly as the bluebird jumped onto a dry tree stump, looked at the snow-covered hound across the empty space between them._

_Decidedly, the bluebird didn't like that the wolf was hurt. It tilted its head, spread short wings and fluttered to a plant in the center space to bury its beak in the oddly tasting aloe plant before fluttering to the wolf's side._

_To the audience, the sight of the bird breaking the aloe down carefully -awkwardly- covering the wolf with a medicinal plant almost the same size as it, was almost funny._

_The humor was lost at the grief the two creatures were clearly experiencing. The bluebird chittered softly, sang a sad tune as it worked and never allowed the wolf to touch it as it worked the medicine across burns and scratches. They were alone, the third gone, and for the moment they worried for their absent companion._

_When the time finally came, the bluebird backed away from the wolf, looked back towards the coyote's place. It was empty, hollow… lonely. The wolf rose behind the bluebird on shaky, unsteady feet that were littered with burnmarks. Just as the wolf moved to pounce, the bird jolted and flew upwards._

_The wolf collapsed again with a soft howl of agony._

_The coyote was nowhere to be seen._

**Run_._**


	21. 21 - Coyote

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

Coyote groaned at the burning heat as she peeled her eyes open to stare at the blinding white light above her. The sun was pure white, dark spots littering the sky as she blinked the light from her vision. As she slowly sat up she was stroked by the soft grass that brushed her arms. There were offcolored bluegreen trees littering the landscape, a short stout woman standing in front of her.

"Veliuona welcomes you, wary…" The woman stopped in her words, frowned and tilted her head almost a full ninety degrees from behind wide citrusy green eyes that blinked several times. "Coyote?"

"Giltinė?" She asked, groaning and stretching her arms as she slowly got to her feet, wide fingers coming out from behind a long black cloak to wrap around her as she was helped to stand on unsteady legs. "Where am I?"

"Veliuona's lands. Why are you here, Coyote? You should be at your roots. Not here."

"I- Veliuona? How can I be in Veliuona's lands? I'm-" _human_. Her brain finished for her. Human. She was human currently. As a God she had never been able to access these places but…

Wait.

"Giltinė? What are you doing here?"

"I… well you know what I am."

"Giltinė." Coyote shivered, wrapped her arms around herself.

"Why are you human, Coyote?"

"I don't know." Tears threatened the corners of her eyes.

"No, no, no. Listen. Coyote, listen." The broad woman wrapped arms around her and she buried her face in the thick fabric of her cloak. "You aren't dead. Not yet. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

Shivering violently, Coyote tightened her grip on the other woman as she fought back the tears she'd never planned on releasing.

_Crow… if you can hear me, please make sure Trem and Slange are safe. I made a mistake. I didn't think and now I worry they are dead. Please, Crow. Keep them safe._

"Coyote, you need to focus."

"I- I killed Medeina while I was in her domain."

"Oh, you _fool_."

"Screw you." The words fell unbidden from her lips and she blinked at the hostility in her own tone. "I'm sorry- I didn't…"

"You aren't dead." Giltinė repeated, carefully pried her off and touched her cheek. "You're in a coma."

"No…" She shook her head, "I can't be in a coma. I- that…"

"I'm sorry, Coyote. Wherever your body is, you're in a coma. If you were in Medeina's domain… your body would have come out wherever she had it situated."

"So… I'm trapped here unless my body recovers?"

"Or you can choose to stay." Giltinė reminded her and she blinked, stared at the ground. She could stay. It was an option. Not a very good one, but it existed. Because she was human.

"No."

"Good." Smiling softly, the woman touched her face. "I worried for a moment."

"Worried for what?"

"That you'd become fragile in your human state."

"I'm still a God." She scowled, glaring at the other woman and stepping back.

"That you are. But you're currently a human. I had to check."

"I don't like you."

"Tricksters never like Reapers." Giltinė hummed, stepped back and adjusted her cloak. "You don't like defined death, the inevitable. You care too little. You don't have to like me, you just have to trust me."

"Trust you for what?"

"To find your body and heal it." Coyote stared at the woman for a long moment.

"You're a Reaper."

"And you're a Trickster. Let's make a leap of faith, Coyote. Do you trust me?"

"Never." Coyote responded, stepping back a bit. "Now save me."

"I have an entire planet to search. I haven't any certainties on how long it will take me or even if I will succeed before your human body fails. This could very well be a permanent residence for you."

A shaky breath escaped her as she held the woman's gaze. "You will find me. Until then… I have Veliuona's lands to explore."

"I will see you again." Giltinė promised before blinking from existence, leaving Coyote to the Lithuanian afterlife for the time. She would survive. She had to.


	22. 22 - Gabriel and Loki

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

Gabriel stared at the screen as two unfamiliar people came into view. One was taller, broader, a mess of wild orange and red hair on the top of his head and a look of pure wonder on his expression. The girl next to him seemed less impressed, arms crossed over her chest and red rings around her eyes. Dark shadows beneath them.

"_It's them_," The male whispered with a bright grin. "_It's actually them_."

"_Focus, Phoenix_." The girl muttered from next to him, so low the microphone barely picked it up. "_Sam and Dean_?"

"That's us." Sam spoke up warily.

"_My name's Phoenix. This is my sister and best friend Taylor."_

Dean moved a bit closer to the camera, a frown creased on his face. "You had Loki?"

"_Yeah_." Phoenix swallowed, rubbed the back of his neck as he crossed his arms over his chest. "_I guess it's business, no time to fangirl."_

"Where is Loki at?" Gabriel spoke up, voice quivering slightly though he didn't fully understand why. He didn't really want to know his other portion. His other portion held a darker part of his personality that he didn't really want to take back on.

"_We don't know_." The two said at the same time, the woman biting her lip and turning away.

"What do you _mean_ you don't know?" Gabriel demanded, yanking away from Sam when he grabbed his shoulder while moving closer to the camera.

"_That's-"_ The male rubbed his eyes and stared at Gabriel. "_That's not possible. Tay, _look."

"It's a really long story." Sam cut in, moving in beside him. "You've read the damned books, haven't you?"

"_Yeah,_" Phoenix admitted.

"So, you know the whole Gabriel being Loki thing." Dean spoke up with an exasperated sigh. "Right now they're not the same person."

"_I knew about that,_" Phoenix admitted, "_Before we went and saved Lo, I received two emails from Carver Edlund. One that I was allowed to show him, and one that I wasn't. According to Carver we weren't supposed to show him that, he didn't want Lo to know about his past. He's human right now."_

"_We also weren't supposed to contact any of you about it but- well…_"

_"Two days ago, me and Lo were hanging out in the bathroom._"

"I don't want to know." Dean muttered and Phoenix chuckled from the other end.

"_Not like that. My girlfriend has a jacuzzi installed in our room._"

"_Anyways._"

"_Sorry, Tay. Someone came to the door and I went downstairs to check it. The alarm was disabled and the front door was standing wide open. I started to go back for the gun that I knew Angela kept stashed in one of the spare rooms and someone knocked me out cold._"

"_Angela came home and found him on the floor like that,_" Taylor added, "_Called me in a panic and we couldn't exactly call the police because Lo's not a legal citizen. Or a legally existing person… that we know of._"

"_I ended filing a missing person report for him anyways. Used the name Lola Davies. I figured_-"

"Lola? Why would you use a woman's name?" Dean asked and Phoenix gave him a long look from the screen. "Oh."

"_He's in a woman's body._"

"Cas?"

"Where are you?" Gabriel side-eyed the younger angel who shifted slightly. It didn't matter where they were, Castiel wasn't in any shape to fly at the moment.

"_Michigan_." Phoenix responded, "_We're in Michigan."_

"Can you fly us there?"

"I could take one of us." Castiel lied and Gabriel moved away from the computer, grabbed his brother by his wrist and drug him outside of the motel room. There was a person outside their room two doors down, toying with the lock on her room. A security blanket that Castiel wouldn't just stupidly take flight in the open. Probably. Hopefully.

"No."

"I can make the flight, Gabriel."

"I am not letting you do that to yourself."

"This is important. I know you don't want me to harm myself, but this is important. This is the other half of your very being and if it dies? You'll be stranded as a human."

"We don't know that and I'm not worth you risking permanent damage to your wings, Castiel."

"Yes. You are. Which is why you must forgive me." His mouth opened as Castiel grabbed his arm, the air whipping violently around them before they landed in a heap on a wooden floor. A sharp gasp of pain tore past his lips as he stared at the smooth wood, a heavy weight slumped over his back, breathing sharply.

"What- holy crap! Phoenix! Tay!"

A small sound tore from the person above him as he tried to roll over onto his back. There was a commotion from somewhere behind him then there was a pair of jeans directly in his face.

"Who- what the hell, Phoenix!"

"Gabriel and Castiel- they're angels," Phoenix responded to the new voice, "Tay, help me with Cas." The weight on his back shifted off, a pained sound tearing from Castiel's lips as Gabriel struggled to his knees, turning around and looking at the two women as they picked up a mostly unconscious Castiel.

"You idiot!" Gabriel scowled, "Lay him on his stomach. On the ground," Gabriel ordered as he struggled to his own feet, flinching at the bruises battering his body.

"What-"

"Tell Dean that we're here and that Cas hurt himself. Now." Gabriel knelt down beside Castiel as the two carefully lowered him to the ground. Phoenix helped him stretch the younger angel out.

"You 'ere 'ight." Castiel muttered against the ground.

"Of course I was. I'm your brother."

"Need t' sleep."

"I know." Gabriel pressed his fingers against the center of Castiel's back and the younger angel shuddered at the contact. "Are they splayed?"

"For the time."

"Do you have a knife?" A moment later and a small knife was passed to him. He took the offered blade and flipped it open, cutting into the meaty part of his palm and painting a sigil onto the floor next to him.

"Close your eyes, little brother. Sleep."

"Mhm." Gabriel watched as Castiel's breathing evened out slowly.

"What did you do?"

"He'll sleep and heal for a while," Gabriel responded, lifting his gaze to meet the golden gaze of the fiery haired human. "Phoenix Bradley."

"At your service, gorgeous." The other man's smile was broad and Gabriel rolled his eyes as he took an offered towel, wrapping it around his hand.

"He wasn't lying," Angela muttered and Gabriel frowned, looked at the woman who was clearly staring at him.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, yeah. Apparently the two of you… slept together. When she was younger."

"That was Loki," Gabriel corrected, crossing his arms over his chest and looking back at Phoenix as Taylor came up, "I want to read this email from Carver Edlund."

"It's gone from my account."

"What do you mean gone?"

"I mean, it's _gone_. The one I was told to show Loki is still there but the one I had for me was gone. Even the text I sent Taylor with the screensnap is gone."

"That is strange."

"Phoenix, they're calling back." Taylor spoke up, walking over to the TV and flipping it on before picking up a keyboard and mouse and bringing it to the dining table.

"Ang, I'm really sorry about all this," Phoenix spoke up softly, snagging his girlfriend by her hand and dragging her from the room.

Now that they were alone, Gabriel gave Taylor a long look as she worked with the keyboard and mouse to bring up Skype on the computer connected to the television. "You were crying."

"No."

"You and him are… close?"

"Yes," She gave in, a little easier than he'd expected as she looked over at him. "I hate him, but I care. He is a friend, Gabriel and it's not a title that I hand out easily."

"You don't like me."

"No," She responded immediately.

"You don't know me, though. I have done nothing to you-"

"What you did isn't my problem, Gabriel. I can't say that I know what it is that you and Loki are, how you relate, but you abandoned humanity. When we needed you most you were willing to throw us to the wolves. It was never enough to me that you redeemed yourself because you never considered for a moment on your own that we were worth saving. Did you ever consider that maybe you aren't as free willed as you like to believe?"

"Yes." Gabriel breathed out, kneeling next to his brother again. "Often. Especially now. I have to ask- I need to know. Loki. Is he… is he as bad as he could be?"

"You think all of your evil aspects stem from him? No, Gabriel. Loki isn't evil. If he was I wouldn't be having sex with him."

"You-" He blinked, turned a startled look on her. "Are you being serious?"

"As a heart attack." Taylor confirmed as she clicked the mouse again and a ringing resounded from the television, much the same as the one from before.

"Why?"

"Because he's charming and cute and I have a weak spot for imps."

"_Gabe_? _Cas_? _Are you okay_?" Gabriel's head shot up to see Dean in the middle of the television, Sam at his side and neither of the women in sight.

"We're fine." Gabriel spoke up, rising back to his feet and walking over to Taylor's side so he was in sight of the camera on the top of the television. "Cas did something stupid. We're not going to be back anytime soon."

"_Where_ _in_ _Michigan_ _are_ _you_? _Me_ _and_ _Sam_-"

"You're going to find the daemon." Gabriel interrupted. "I can help them find Loki."

"_Dude_, _you're_ _still_ _barely_ _functional_ _as a human. How_-"

"I can help them find Loki because I now know he's human. Dean, I need you to trust me. You and Sam need to stay there. Find the daemon, see if you can't find more about the demon that killed that witch."

"_But- Gabe, this is_…" _wrong. _His mind supplied, his own unease at parting from one of his brother's wriggling into the front of his mind. "_Cas is hurt and you're human_."

"He's got an angel blade and once he wakes up he'll be good on his feet again. You need to worry about that, not me. Send Charlie and Eileen for my Grace. I will keep you updated."

A long stretch of silence held a starting contest between him in and Dean, a conversation falling between them without any words ever leaving their lips. Then the silence was over and Dean nodded with an annoyed grunt.

"_Don't get yourself killed_."

"I won't." Gabriel promised, not sure whether he was being honest or not.

"_And you. Pretty boy_." Dean turned his attention and Gabriel looked over his shoulder to see Phoenix stepping back in, alone.

"Taylor, he called me pretty." Phoenix hummed heartily as he moved in next to them. "I can die in peace now."

"_Keep them safe. The both of you, ya hear me?_"

"Hey, we're more than capable fangirls. We know how to deal with the supernatural."

Dean blinked, eyed Phoenix through the screen. "_Dude or chick?_"

"Bit of both. Depends on the day. I've got them. Swear on my life. I know how to fight and I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. I'll protect them."

"_I hope I'm right in trusting you, kid._"

"We'll find Loki, we'll keep them safe." Taylor spoke up, "If it kills us, we will."

"_Don't get yourself hurt_." Dean corrected his earlier statement. Gabriel wanted to laugh because he knew that Dean hadn't actually meant it. "_Gabe and Cas can handle themselves. They're angels._"

"One that's a human and one that's passed out in the middle of my girlfriend's living room. Sorry if I think they'll need protecting."

A smile graced Dean's face, "_I think I like you._"

"Tay, he likes me. Hold me. I'm going to faint."

"_Maybe less._"

"I'm screwing with you. I'll stick to fangirling in my own time." He hummed, throwing an arm over Gabriel's shoulder. "We'll be careful and if he decides to do something stupid, I'll knock him out cold."

"_I'll hold you to that then._"

"_Gabriel?_" Gabriel moved his attention to Sam as he spoke up, "_You're sure?_"

The question was clearly nothing to do with whether he needed their help or not. Gabriel could see the real question there. The 'Do you really want to take that back on?'

"I'll be fine, Sam." He smiled without too much emotion. "He's part of me and I have to accept that."

"_We'll talk later._" Dean spoke up after another moment of silence.

"Bye, boys." Phoenix hummed before Taylor clicked the red hang up button. "And then there were four."

"Do you have a local map?" Gabriel asked as he got up, walked over to Castiel and touched his side, earning a slight shift but nothing more.

"On paper?" Taylor asked him and he nodded, turning to look at the two.

"Yes, on paper."

"No." They said at the same time.

"Go to a convenience store, get me one. And a candle, unscented. Allspice would be helpful."

"What for?"

"A tracking spell. Super basic. I didn't think it would be useful because I was under the assumption that he had powers but if he's human it's something else entirely. I can pinpoint his exact location."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Gabriel confirmed, looking back at them as Taylor picked up a set of keys on the coffee table. "Where's he been sleeping?"

"Depends on the night," Pheonix muttered.

"We need to find some of his DNA."

"If you're the same person won't it be the same?"

"There's no two identical pieces of DNA and even if it is the same I can't track myself. It will work either way."

"What if one of the Pagans kidnapped him?"

"Then I'll talk to them. I need my other portion back and the only way I can do that is if I come into contact with them."

"Tay?"

"Yeah, I know but- well I don't care. Call me an idiot, but I care about the little asshole."

"Damn it. Fine. But, Gabriel. We're in this with you. You're close with the Winchesters and my guess is you're going to do something stupid. Best thing for you is to have someone with a brain backing you up."

"And that's you?" Gabriel raised a challenging brow at Phoenix who grinned in return.

"Hell no. That would be my sister. She's the levelheaded one that keeps me from dumping my entire check on brand names I barely know the meaning of just because they're 'pretty'."

Gabriel wasn't sure if he liked these two, but he had an innate trust of them that he couldn't place. They weren't going to kill him and they very well might've been willing to die to save Loki.

Right now, he needed Loki more than he ever thought he would.

Two hours later, they were at the dining table connected directly to the living room, three maps spread out with a careful assortment of spices and herbs set beside each. The candle was currently set above the world map, a small sheet of paper the size of a quarter set in Gabriel's hand while Castiel rested his head on the table, arms crossed beneath it as the three humans stood across from Gabriel.

In the short time knowing them, Gabriel had decided he liked Angela. She was calm, open minded, strangely accepting of their situation. When he asked her to do something, she did it with crystal clear reluctance. But helping was help.

The other two were an entirely different story. Taylor was extremely standoffish and Phoenix acted like a child. While this was an obviously serious situation, Phoenix jumped straight into flirting and lewd remarks that if he was honest, made him uncomfortable. Sure, Loki might have liked this strange fan of a book series written about the hunters, but Gabriel didn't.

At least Taylor's disdain for him was mutual.

"So… what if you were wrong?"

"Then I'll know and I'll send out some prayers to some Pagans. Logic points to it being a Norse that would want to kidnap Loki." Gabriel pressed his lips together before slipping into an easy flow of Enochian, Phoenix reaching forward and lighting the candle as Gabriel flipped the penny that Taylor had given him. It caught in the middle of the air, whirring and whistling as it spun faster and faster, little jolts of electricity jumping off of it as it became a solid blur that was barely visible.

A crack that sounded an awful lot like thunder broke around them then the penny slammed down into the table, the other half whirring off of it violently and shattering a lightbulb. There were several shouts from the humans at the table as they stumbled away, Castiel jolting awake just as his head was showered in broken glass.

"What the hell!" Taylor demanded as Gabriel inched back towards the table, frowning at the clean split in the half of the penny that had planted itself flat against the northeastern bit of the United States.

"I think it's malfunctioning." It wasn't malfunctioning. There was no precedent for the spell to react like that. Unless… maybe part of their powers were in another domain? An afterlife?

It was off.

"I think it's reacting to me being here." Gabriel lied.

"Will it do that every time you do the spell?"

"Possibly." _Yes_. "I'm sorry, Angela."

"I can replace it. Maybe we should move it to one of the spare bedrooms? There are significantly less valuables in there."

"That works."

Two more attempts later ended with a broken lamp, and a window with a hole in it as well as an exact address.

It had taken Gabriel, Taylor, and Angela all grabbing the furious human to keep him from barreling out of the house without any explanation for the confused angels. Ultimately Castiel, had knocked the human out and Taylor had begun pacing back and forth, anxiously fidgeting and chewing on her nails.

"Care to explain?"

"That's her bastard brother's house," Taylor muttered, grinding her teeth together. "There was an incident at the library with them. Chad called the police on Lo and they showed up here."

"I don't understand. Why would this brother do this?"

"Why did yours kill you?" Taylor gave him a look and he snapped his mouth shut. "Ego mixed with the mind of a sociopath."

"Kidnapping's a whole new level of nuts," Everyone looked up where Phoenix was tied up on the leather recliner, his gaze rested on Angela. "You know, babe. I'm all for getting tied up but never took you for an exhibitionist."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I've never seen you like that. A murder charge isn't going to do either of us any good."

"Nice to know you think I'm capable." Phoenix shifted in his bindings, eyes sliding shut.

"I know you aren't. That's what worries me." Angela countered, getting up from the couch and walking over to him, "I don't want you dead, babe. I want you alive and kickin'. I haven't even proposed yet."

"Touché." Phoenix sighed heavily as Angela sat down in his lap, looking across them. "So, guys. What's the plan?"

"My wings are broken. I can't fly."

"You also aren't going to help us break into the house. You can barely walk." Gabriel told his younger brother with a firm look. The defiance was expected of course. Castiel wasn't known to be amendable.

"I'm fine."

"The answer is no."

"Gabriel, we were in Purgatory together for many years. I am more than capable of handling myself."

"As much as I hate to say it, he's right." Taylor spoke up. "You are exhausted and in pain. You shouldn't be involved in whatever stupid thing we do to get Lo back."

"Gabriel."

"You need to recover." Gabriel said softly, "I'm going to trust you to stay, or I'm going to ward you into the house."

A long stare off ended in Castiel slumping his shoulders, nodding slowly. "Okay."

"So, how are we approaching this?" Taylor asked.

"I could beat down my brother's front door or- you know. Call the damned police."

"We really shouldn't get the police involved," Gabriel spoke up, "The concerns about the Norse are genuine ones."

"They won't force him to show his face."

"No, but his face being in the police database is a risk that I would rather not take. When we reconnect, we don't know which of our bodies we'll take and we don't know for sure if we'll have our powers back."

"So we have to break into his house."

"I know him just enough that I can probably get through his security pass code." Phoenix spoke up.

"I know how to pick a lock," Taylor grinned slightly.

"And I… have a gun." Angela spoke up, less certain.

"No-"

"Babe, I love that you're protecting me but in case you've forgotten, I'm more than capable of defending myself. Probably better than you are." Angela pressed a kiss against her boyfriend's cheek. "Besides, four's a crowd and someone's got to watch your angel crush."

"What? I'm not staying-"

"Taylor, you know him well enough. I'm sure you can get us in just as easy."

"Gabriel! I swear to God if you let my girlfriend go I will beat the ever-living hell out of you. You hear me? I will end you!" Gabriel moved to his feet slowly, met Castiel's gaze.

_I'm guessing you aren't going to listen. When you inevitably do something stupid, don't do it alone._

"It's late enough we should be able to do this. Let's go." Gabriel ordered as he got to his feet, ignoring the thrown insults that came from behind him.

It didn't really matter what they tried, things were going to go wrong anyways. That was how their world worked.

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

Loki made a broken sound in the back of his throat as he stared at the back of eyelids. Freyja had taken on a spectral form that he knew that bastard Chad couldn't see. It felt like it had been years.

Loki hated the man. When the time came, when he was free… oh who was he kidding? He was never getting out of this. There had been a moment of hope that had ended. The strange voice in his head had probably been a delusion brought on by being so close to death. He had to be dying.

Odin help him, he wished he was dying.

Freyja stretched out on top of him, digging her claws in the already tender skin of his body.

"'ate you." He muttered to the air, voice rough and cracked from screaming. For the most part, he was longing for the light. Though the light meant pain. The light meant that that bastard Chad was back. A lifetime ago, he'd been chained to a rock, trapped in a cave. All he'd wanted then was to never be trapped again. As it turned out, as a human it was still miserable. Maybe worse because he genuinely didn't know how much time had passed.

In the end of it all… he really just wanted to sleep.

Freyja mewed loud enough for him to hear, tilted her head and got to her feet. If he didn't know better, he'd think the cat was smiling. The only time she smiled was when he was being assaulted by the damned psychopath.

"Wasn' me. Di'n' hur' Odin." The promise never stopped hurting his pride but he had to hope that enough tries would end with her forgiveness. In theory. Not really but Fen hadn't answered any prayers and he was becoming desperate.

"Oh, bitch girl!" A voice resounded loudly from outside the door. Or probably loudly. His hearing was questionable. The voice was audible enough and light broke through the room and grazed across his closed eyelids as metal ground behind him. "I brought a friend."

"Eat me." If he wasn't in so much pain and restrained he would have happily high fived himself for actually getting those words out.

"Not a cannibal." Chad responded cheerily and Loki breathed slowly through his nose, functional eye flicking open as he caught a glimpse of fiery hair in the corner of his eyes.

"Jus'a sadis'." _Phoenix. _The human looked a lot better off that he was, just sporting a black eye as his elder brother carried him draped over his shoulder.

"Not at all. I just enjoy the finer things in life."

"He's 'kay." Chad stretched out slightly as he put Phoenix into the manacles chained into the wall across from him. In the days since he'd been there, Chad hadn't used them and Loki had never wanted to know what they were for.

Torture wasn't his game. Not unjustified.

"See, I didn't plan on involving my baby brother. I didn't. But then he showed up at my door demanding I give you back. Now. I don't know how he knew, but I couldn't exactly let him go with that knowledge."

"As'ole."

There were some muffled words that he couldn't quite hear and Loki flinched when he heard the sharp sound of Chad slapping Phoenix across the face.

"I uh- what the hell- oh God, Chad- dude what the f-"

"Hey, little bro." Chad interrupted him, "You wanted your dyke girlfriend? I got her right here."

"Are you okay, Lo?" Phoenix's voice was almost inaudible and Chad snorted.

"Your girl's in perfect shape. Ain't that right, sweetheart?" A violent scream ripped past his throat as a hand wrapped around his broken ankle, fingers actively digging into the bullet hole and leaving him sobbing in agony.

"You're going to regret this, Chad."

"Oh, I'm terrified. Really, Phe. I am."

There was an audible quiver in Phoenix's voice that gave away just how scared he was. Loki was reminded of the library and the shift in Phoenix's personality. The anxiety that the older brother brought the younger one.

Loki wanted to punch Chad.

"Not me you want to worry about."

"What are you talking about?"

"In the last ten years, when was the last time I went anywhere alone?" Loki frowned. Something niggled at the edge of his mind. Was Taylor with him? If so, why had they bothered letting him get ahold of Phoenix? Why- _oh_.

For the first time in a long time, a smile broke across his face, even as tears poured down his cheeks from the pain.

"What?"

"Oh. Right. You wouldn't know because you don't have a heart. But- well, that's fine. Because I'm _not_ alone and you really shouldn't be such a predictable narcissist because it's honestly really boring."

"Tay." Loki breathed out, unable to hear his own word as he laughed softly, fighting back the pained sounds that tried to escape him from the pain from his broken ribs.

"No- she's not here." Chad sounded wary, though. "I'll be back."

"Where's the confidence, Chad? That glorious ego of yours."

"Shut up." The sadist slipped past his vision and out the door.

"Lo, how bad is it?"

"Hur's." He admitted, swallowing. "A lo'."

"We'll get you healed."

"'oo is we?"

"Castiel." Phoenix responded and he frowned, eyes drifting shut.

"'ngel? 'e's dead."

"We have a lot to talk about but this isn't the best place for that. We'll talk about it. Later. Not right now."

"Tay?"

"She's good. Misses you."

Loki snorted, flinching at his sudden movement.

"We both did. Been a long couple days."

"Days?" Loki repeated with a frown. It had been a couple days? That was it?

A shout resounded from the distant, barely bouncing off his eardrums. "Phoenix." A voice came from behind him, vaguely familiar.

_Castiel_.

"Cas, heal him." Phoenix spoke from the wall and a couple fingers touched his temple, warmth flooding his system and making him shiver as most of his major injuries were healed.

Not all of them.

"'stiel." Loki met the angel's blue gaze, head pounding violently.

"Hello, Loki." The angel walked away from the table, unchaining Phoenix and helping him down onto his feet before both of them came over and undid his bindings.

"Where are they?"

"I don't know. We need to move, though. Can you walk, Loki?"

"'urt." He responded as he was lifted out of where he was strapped down. His body ached violently, the major injuries the only things healed. He could still feel burns on his skin and everything ached like he hadn't eaten in a week.

A couple days.

"I couldn't heal you completely. Whatever has you human, it is limiting my abilities."

"'m alive." He muttered, not protesting at all when Castiel put him across his shoulder. "M' hero."

A loud crack resounded from above them, another one echoing a second later.

"Gunshots." Phoenix said quietly then he was moving, being carried through the house and up two different sets of stairs to stop in a hallway suddenly.

"Ang!" Phoenix cried from next to him and he struggled against Castiel, kicking against his better judgement until Castiel set him down.

Then he was running to their sides, dropping down to his knees and touching Angela's face as she gasped desperately for breath, blood pouring from a wound in her chest.

"Cas, fix her!" Phoenix demanded as the angel knelt down next to them.

Hands went down next to theirs, warmth brushing his fingertips as Angela inhaled sharply, scrambled up and fumbled back. "I- I killed him…" Her gaze darted to the distant space away from them and they all looked over to see Chad's dead body in a slump against the wall, a bullet right between his eyes.

"He shot you." Phoenix swallowed, crawled over to his girlfriend's side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm-" She laughed sharply, more delirious than anything. "I'm perfectly fine. I am… I was just saved by an _angel_."

"You're welcome." Castiel said quietly and Loki carefully rose to his feet, legs wobbling a bit under him as he turned around.

Standing before him was a vividly familiar man, arms at his side, head tilted faintly and eyes wide. Bright, familiar eyes met his and something twisted in him, sharp and sudden. Without saying a word, he knew who this was. It was clear as day though he didn't understand _why_. Then he abandoned all thoughts, threw himself forward and threw himself into the other man's waiting arms.

His legs wrapped tightly around the other man's waist, arms going around his neck and then his mouth was on the other's. It was clear that the other man hardly knew what the hell he was doing but Loki was more than happy to lead the assault as he was pinned against the wall. Every inch of him lit up and he felt revitalized in a way he hadn't since his resurrection.

Who would've thought that some other weird aspect of him would be so innocent?

"Loki? Gabriel?" Someone cleared their throat loudly and he groaned, breaking the kiss.

"We're a little busy."

"Dude." Phoenix said, "There's a dead body."

"I've done worse with worse. I'm a Pagan." Loki proclaimed, burying his face in _Gabriel's_ neck as the other man held him against him. "But fine. Someone really needs to explain to me what in the ever-living hell is going on because I'm clearly missing some details."

"Can we leave here?" Taylor prodded carefully and he met her gaze, leaning away from the other man and giving her a long look until she gave in and crossed the space between them to kiss him. If Gabriel was bothered by it? He didn't say a word.

"I thought you took off." She admitted quietly and he grinned.

"I'd never go without my farewell. You're probably right, though. Gunfire's bound to call the police and this will be a hard one to explain."

Nuzzling back into Gabriel's neck, he closed his eyes and after a moment they were moving out of the house.

"I'm going to clear his security system." Phoenix spoke up from somewhere behind him,

"I will stay with him," Castiel added. "We'll meet you outside in a moment."

"Mhm." Loki hummed as they left. He would come back later, burn the house to the ground. If Freyja was still around, she could burn with it.

* * *

**If you haven't caught on yet… things are going to be weird for Loki and Gabriel. A dynamic I'm enjoying and weirded out by. The downside with this chapter is I split Sam and Dean from the rest of the group.**


	23. 23 - Coyote

**I guess I'll do a content warning? Though it **_**really**_** shouldn't be surprising with the context. Greek sibling romantic relationships. **

* * *

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

Coyote breathed deeply and looked around her. She had found the field where the children eternally played, lost in the bliss and joy of the creation of their minds and it was beautiful. Pure.

"I always forget you enjoyed the presence of children."

"Small heathens." Coyote responded, turning to meet the cool blue faintly familiar gaze of Pinčiukas. Another Trickster. "I thought you were dead." The body he chose was pale, heavyset, all smile and messy hair. A hot pink suit adorned his body, glimmering with glitter in the false sunlight.

"Most of us are."

"Is Crow?" The look she received in response said nothing one way or the other and it was becoming obvious as she encountered more and more of the Pagans that someone was deliberately keeping information from her. Or they were forcing silence on that information. _Someone_ didn't want her to know what was happening and whoever that someone was? They held major sway in the Pagan communities. It could be a number of things that didn't help her case one bit. Certain Gods were capable of manipulations over multiple afterlives with the right leverage. "Have you come to gloat?" She asked instead and Pinčiukas smiled at her.

"Would I truly be so petty?"

"Yes." She deadpanned.

"Well for the day, I am not. For the day, I am simply here to observe."

"Observe and report? You taking all of the gossip back to whichever one of us has left me in this position to begin with."

"You may not believe me, but it was none of us here that did this to you. Unlike the others, you and your companions were never problems. It came with the Aztecs and Mayans that the bloodshed reached truly epic proportions."

"Coyo isn't into bloodshed."

"We aren't talking about just Tricksters, my prideful little friend. You know how the worshipers could be, how the others were."

Oh, she did. Coyo had never been fond of it and Anansi had avoided it at all costs. Some groups were significantly more gruesome than she could fathom.

"Is Coyo alive?"

The response was the same one she had received when she asked about Crow and her stomach churned violently though she knew full well she couldn't get sick in the afterlife. All she wanted was answers. Or _one_ answer.

"What about Slange? Trem? Come on. They're human. Not deities. You have to be allowed to talk about that."

"It isn't that simple. I'm sorry, _draugas_." Pinčiukas shrugged his shoulders. "There are a lot of things we aren't allowed to say, to do. The restrictions and stipulations are complex."

Coyote thought for a long moment before looking back at the children. "So… if Medeina told me something about any of those people… would it have been a lie?"

The leaves next to her crunched and she glanced out of the corner of her eye to watch the pale man sit down next to her. "Considering the fact that she shouldn't have said anything to begin with, I'm not really sure. Maybe yes, maybe no. For what it may be worth, I do wish I could be more help, Coyote."

"How about this. If Crow or Coyo _are_ alive can you tell them that I forgive them? I don't know if they can hear my prayers and I worry for them."

"After you went away, they missed you. I know the story, Coyote. I know you blame yourself but it was the Hunters." There was no change of tone, no indication of what his answer was. There was a lot of pity, though. A sadness that echoed through their surroundings and engulfed them as he addressed one of the other parts of her history. The last thing she vividly remembered.

"It was my oversight." Coyote muttered, pulling her knees to her chest, "I was running the game and I made a mistake."

"Anansi never would have blamed you, though." Sighing, Coyote leaned into his side. "It would be petty. We know the game, we know the rules. It is what we do every time we make ourselves shown to hunters. Those risks are all our own."

"If you didn't play alone you would understand more. It's not just self-preservation when you're with others. It's not just you that's at risk . Then, if you're the one that arranges the game? There's a guilt there that I can't explain to you. Something you will never understand. A mentality that I hope you can never empathize with."

"You're wrong, you know." Pinčiukas responded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I was with Daucina for about fifty years. It may not have been as long as your affair with Crow and Anansi, but I cared deeply for him."

"Did he die?" The answer was obvious but she asked anyways.

"I killed him. Much like you, we were toying with hunters. I was responsible for the duplicates and I got distracted by the pretty one. Too pretty. The husband killed him."

"That isn't your- _oh_." Coyote laughed softly, shook her head. "I don't like being emotionally guided by a devil."

"You don't have to like it. I'm making a point. What happened to Anansi was a tragic and a heartbreaking loss to our kind, but it happens. We are victims more often than the others because we enjoy risking things, enjoy the dangers. You know as well as any of us would that he would never blame you for it. Would you blame him for it?"

"Never." It hurt to admit that because it was true. What he was telling her was such a human thing, the idea of placing herself into the position of someone that shared so many ideals with her… It was the thing that had pushed her over the edge, her tipping point in the end. Something she still didn't fully grasp because there was such a large gap in time. "I don't remember anything following it." She admitted, feeling like a child telling a terrible secret.

_"-and I love you-"_ _Sharp, searing pain. Betrayal. "-Oh, I'm loyal. To them!-"_

"Most anything." She corrected herself with a small sound, "There's these… memory fragments? They're mostly auditory and emotional, so fractured that trying to remember more than what I have hurts."

"Maybe it's better if you don't." Pinčiukas mused, "Dwelling on whatever you did? Is it truly worth it?"

"You could be right," She agreed, tilting her head to meet the angel's gaze. "But… I need you to tell me something, Pinčiukas. If you were in my position, if you were trapped like this with no recollection of why you came to be that way, of where your... best friends were… would you just accept it? Or would you try to know everything you could about everything that happened?"

"I never said you _weren't_ doing the right thing. I just wondered what your response would be."

"I don't like being the object of your analyzation."

"Would you rather be in isolation here?"

"No." She admitted, wrapping her arm around his and resting her head on his shoulder. "I would like to pretend things are different for a moment. Just a moment."

"I can play pretend for a time. What do you want to play, Coyote?"

Silence rested for a moment between them before she looked down. "Do you remember when Gods could have children?"

"Yes, I do."

"I always wondered what that would be like," It was a secret she had only ever told Crow. Something that she had admitted on a drunken night in her early life. "Can we pretend- for just a moment that the little heathens over there are my children? That you and I are friends and not acquaintances?"

"I can do you something better." Pinčiukas whispered, all devious and conspiring. "But you mustn't tell. Wouldn't want to lose my devlish edge." Coyote started to say something but her words died on her lips as the scene around them flickered and shifted, leaving her sitting in the entrance of a large tent with a crow on the ground next to her.

There were two children, a small boy that looked awfully similar to her current self, and a girl that resembled the appearance she had possessed when she first met Pinčiukas. They were both running through the flowers, chasing each other as they giggled and squealed.

"Thank you." She breathed, leaning closer to Pinčiukas as the crow jumped up on her knee. A manifestation, but still comforting in its presence.

"They remind me of someone else I knew."

"They're your design," She pointed out as the boy dove into her arms, the crow squawking and jumping out of her lap as she caught the excited boy in her arms, the girl dive-bombing them both and sending them all back onto the floor.

Why did it feel so familiar?

Her arms wrapped tightly around the manifestations of children and her heart ached as she felt tears fill her eyes.

The scene shifted to an icy landscape, leaving her in a heap with the two children while three other Gods looked on. Unfamiliar in their presence. Looming and dark.

_"You will suffer for your crimes._"

When she blinked, they were gone and her eyes were tear filled. Pinčiukas was gone.

For the first time since her return she felt truly, honestly, hollow.

**.-~*~-.**  
COYOTE  
***~-.-~***

"You can't swap afterlives." The Reaper she had summoned frowned at her like she had lost her mind. Like a dead woman summoning her was the maddest thing that had ever happened in her existence. Probably one of the more interesting occurrences for the Reaper.

"It happens, though. I need it to happen here. I will lose my mind if I spend eternity in the arms of this landscape. This is not where I belong, Reaper. I am asking a _favor_."

"These things only happens when someone chooses a new faith or learns the ones they love are somewhere else. Neither of these are the case. Not to mention that you aren't even technically _dead_-"

"With all of the respect that I can muster, I need to access the Greek Underworld. I _need_ to be in Hades'. Please."

"What use would Hades be for you? You don't worship Hades. In fact… you shouldn't be here either. How did you end up here?" The Reaper gave her a long, analytical look and she did her best Hunter impression, crossing her arms and glaring with defiance at the woman before her. It wasn't far off from her God demeanor, the major difference being that Hunters _were_ human and could play defiant when they weren't so.

"I don't worship these Gods either. I don't worship _anyone_. I am a non-believer. Any afterlife can have my soul."

"You are meant for The Summerland." The Reaper disregarded what she said, clearly reading her soul and its final intended destination rather than listening to what she was saying. "But again. By all rights, you are still alive- for the moment. If you are in a coma and come to-"

"Then nothing is lost." This Reaper didn't recognize her and she had no intentions on making the information known. At the very least, this Reaper knew nothing about her situation but she also knew better than to bother trying to ask for any information about the ones she wanted answers for. Reapers weren't supposed to give answers and this wasn't a Pagan that would throw her a bone for the fun of it. "The dead don't remember death."

"And if I _were_ to bring you to Hades', The Reaper continued, giving her a very unamused look. "What would you do? Kill him? Persephone? One of the others there?"

"No," She was being honest too. Never in her life would she kill one of them. There was no use in creating conflict with other gods. What she _needed_ was to reach out to one of the Greeks. "I just want to go there. I need to speak with someone that resides within. I was left in the wrong afterlife. Move me. Please."

"I really shouldn't," The Reaper muttered, summoning up a clipboard and marking a couple things on it. "You will owe me for this, Hunter. I have better things to be doing than clean up a mess because you didn't ask for the right Reaper when you fell into your coma."

"Deal." Snapping her fingers, the clipboard dissipated before she stepped forward and gripped Coyote by her arm.

White light flashed and then she was in a different landscape, the current of the Styx crashing down beside her and the low howl of Cerberus was in the distance. Her breathing stopped for a moment and she turned away from the pathway that would lead her towards whatever fate might await her to see the large three headed dog barreling at her from the other direction near the main entrance. All three tongues were lolling and she braced herself, held her breath.

The ten foot fall dog tackled her to the ground, three heads fighting to lick her face violently and she groaned, struggling under their overwhelming weight.

"Down. Cerb, _down_." The assault continued and she gave up on struggling, going lax and staring at the beautiful beast as it fell back on its haunches. "Good dog." She breathed, pushing herself into a sitting position. "It's been a long while. I won't be able to understand you, girls. I wish I could."

Cerberus whined softly, heads bowing, the third tilting its head to the side.

"I need you to help me. I need you to take me to Hades." The beast whined softly before getting up onto its feet, stretching out like a cat. "I have a limited amount of time. Please." The middle barked softly, the other two growling in response and Coyote hoped that they weren't being guided by whoever was blocking her from every other thing she wanted to do.

The hounds disappeared, melting into shadows and she groaned.

Of course.

She turned and began making her way down the path, frowning when a door suddenly appeared before her. Well… it wasn't like she could become more mostly dead. Sure, she could die. But the chance she did was small. When she opened it and stepped through, she was met with the sight of a brightly lit room with a large bed pressed against the middle wall, dead plants littered the room and an olive skinned woman sat at the foot of the bed, watching her with deep green eyes.

"Persephone."

"Hello, Coyote." The woman responded, smiling broadly. "Cerberus came to me. I have to say, I didn't know what to expect when I summoned that door. Especially not a _Trickster_, trapped as a human."

"Do you know _why_ I'm like this?"

"I can honestly tell you, I have no idea." Persephone responded, tone mildly taunting. "There has to be some irony in this, though. A Trickster becoming the tricked?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that sooner or later, it was bound to happen."

Coyote sighed softly, crossed her arms over her chest and tried not to think too hared on the tone in her voice. "I need to speak with Athena."

"Now why would I do that?"

"Because she's an old acquaintance."

"Athena doesn't make friends with Tricksters."

Coyote bit her tongue, breathing deeply through her nose. "I can't pray, Persephone. I'm almost dead and I'm _human_. I am _begging_ and I don't beg. I need to speak with her."

"Hm…" Persephone gave her a long look before climbing to her feet. "Beg. Properly."

Coyote glared at Persephone and the Goddess smiled in response.

"I could take you to my sister. But you have to beg me to do it."

"You are serious." Coyote swallowed heavily, crossed her arms over her chest.

"Absolutely serious." Persephone responded and Coyote closed her eyes, swallowed her pride and stepped up to the Goddess.

"Bitch."

"Consider this a redemption for sending Cerberus on a rampage when you were younger."

"You weren't ever my target."

"Do you really think Hades deals with anything on his own? No. Next time you screw with my husband do it when I'm _not_ in the Underworld. Now _beg _like the hound you are."

Fighting back the instinctive defiance, every piece of her screaming in protest… she dropped to her knees and looked up at the woman. "I am _begging_ you, Persephone. Take me to Athena. _Please_."

Persephone tapped her nose and grinned, expression screaming with her victory. "Of course."

Coyote bit back any of her threats as she slumped into a sitting position, watching the Queen of the Underworld as she walked out of the room.

It took all of her strength not to break down there and cry. If anyone asked, it was her humanity bleeding through because she was a Trickster. Strong, proud, powerful. There was no reason why she would be breaking down. She was a _God_, and, at the moment, she was _human_.

Vulnerable, emotional, weak.

_"-They are better than us - right they're flawed. But a lot of them try. To do better, to forgive. - I'm on theirs.-"_

The memory bombarded her with emotions plagued with overconfidence and raw anger. Coyote had no basis for the broken memories and if they didn't stop she knew she was going to lose her mind. The gaps were infuriating. None of anything made any sort of sense and she was getting damn _tired_ of being toyed with.

She was a _Trickster_.

So, when the door opened and Persephone stepped through with an older woman in tow she didn't even think about it as she marched straight over the Goddess of the Underworld, throwing all of her strength behind her fist as she punched the woman square in the jaw.

Both women looked astonished when Persephone stumbled back, lip bloody and hand flying up to hold the spot.

"You're _human_."

"I'm technically a _soul_ right now and you're being -at lack of a better word- a bitch."

"So polite for a little-"

"Persephone." The elderly woman chastised and she scowled.

"Are you defending her?"

"Yes. I am. She is in a very uncomfortable situation."

"Artemis, Dionysus, and Apollo didn't complain."

"Artemis and Apollo chose to have their powers taken and be reborn as humans. They don't remember themselves. Dionysus made his choice, he set himself up and he was prepared for what happened. My dear friend wasn't quite so fortunate. _Coyote_ didn't get to choose. So, go. Give me some time with her. I swear on our dear father that I'll make it up to you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Persephone glared at Athena with venom before storming down the hallway.

"Athena-"

"Hold on," The Goddess stepped through the doorway and she backed up as Athena shut the door. "I am sincerely sorry, Coyote."

"I need to know something, Athena." She met the other woman's sympathetic gaze. "Do you know what happened to me?"

"Yes." Athena admitted, sighing softly and leaning against the wall. "If there was a chance that we would tell you, we were warned not to."

"Warned." Coyote repeated, swallowing heavily and crossing her arms over her chest. "Warned not to tell me. You're afraid of whatever threatened you."

"No, Coyote. There are very few things that I'm afraid of and there is a different reason as to why I'm not going to tell you."

"We aren't friends."

"No, we aren't. But we aren't enemies either. I'm sorry. I really am. I won't play this game with you."

Sighing deeply, Coyote wrapped her arms around her sides. "We made a deal. Years ago. I want to know what it was about."

"That… is a difficult thing to answer for you, Coyote."

"But you _can_ answer it."

"I don't know if I want to." Athena responded, looking away. "It falls into the same category but… it is a separate issue as well."

"Our agreement was a secret for a secret. I remember yours. I _know_ what you told me. I don't remember what I told you, though. I need to know what my secret is, Athena. I demand that you tell me the truth."

"Or what?"

"Or I tell Zeus the truth. I can pray a whole lot quicker than you can kill me."

"You would _die_, Coyote."

"And I will _die_ like this, Athena. I am not just some human. I am a _God_ and I take what I want. I am a _Trickster_ and all ends justify the means of getting there. If I have to die? Well. I guess this conversation will last longer seeing as I am trapped in the afterlife I will be sent to."

"You arrogant, _foolish_, girl." Athena sighed deeply, turned her back to her. "I sometimes forget what a Trickster can be. Sometimes I underestimate you. I never should have told you."

"You're a virgin Goddess, Athena. There are things you are meant to do, ideals you must uphold. If you were to break these rules… well, can you imagine the anger? What your father would do if he learned you and her's dirty secret?"

"The world has changed."

"We never do, though. We are meant to be as we are. I'm not malicious, not by nature, but I want to be me again. I _need_ to be me again."

"This isn't about you."

"What?"

"You just said exactly why it isn't. You aren't malicious and we don't change. This is about something else- someone else." Coyote swallowed, "But… you will do it. Whatever your cause is, you will do whatever it takes to get it back and I can't answer the questions you have. So, I'm at a standstill. But, you have to understand… this is on that line. It is on the thin line."

"Tell me."

Athena sighed and turned around, met her gaze. "You're desperate."

"I am. I am _absolutely_ desperate."

"It won't help you, Coyote."

"If it wouldn't help me, you wouldn't be delaying your response."

"Coyote…"

"No more prolonging. You think that you can put this off until I'm brought back, right? No. That's not going to happen."

"Okay." Athena spread her arms to the side, "Okay… Coyote- on that night, all of those years ago… you told me a secret, and I told you my own." Licking her lips, Athena peeled back the edge of her tank top to reveal the basic symbol marring the space beneath her collarbone, her symbol. "This was my promise."

"I know, Athena. And I'm sorry. I really am. I'm breaking this trust that you left with me."

"That night, you told me… who you were."

"Who I was?"

Athena smiled sadly, "Who you really were. The name you were born with, the identity that _he_ gave you was never Coyote. It was a sham, a lie. A _trick_ like so many other things you did."

"I- I don't understand."

"You were never born like us. The truth is that you were born from the essence of Creation. The shards of Oblivion. Coyote, you are not a God but an angel. An _archangel_. Your name at birth, at creation, was _Gabriel._ You are the God's of the first Light's archangel."

"No."

"Yes, Coyote. This is the truth you asked for, the secret I will take to my grave. Much like I hope you will take mine to yours."

"I'm not an archangel!" Coyote laughed, hollow and broken as she felt a deep stabbing in her heart, a desperate _thump_. "I am not even a God right now! You're lying."

"It's the truth. The one that you asked me for. Believe me or don't, but it _is_ the truth. And your time is up."

_Thump_.

Her breath came sharply as she choked on something in her throat, fighting violently against the machines connected to her as a ringing echoed around her. Shouts of panic came and she managed to catch a glimpse of Giltinė before she disappeared completely.

Alive. She was alive.

_Gabriel._

The name echoed in her mind like a promise as she fought against the doctors, nurses, and machines around her.


	24. 24 - Loki & Gabriel

**.-~*~-.  
**LOKI  
***~-.-~***

Loki shifted on his other portion's lap, making himself comfortable as he kissed his neck before resting his head on the other man's shoulder.

"_It's creepy_," Dean Winchester's voice came over the speaker of the TV as he breathed deeply, held the familiar scent. Fire and light, a scent that he could never identify yet came perfectly to him in that moment. It was _him_. Except not. It felt like coming home which was a strange experience considering how much he feared going home.

"I have never agreed more with anyone on anything," Phoenix agreed with the Hunter, poking Loki in the side.

"You're just jealous." Loki muttered as Gabriel stroked his hands down Loki's back.

"This hits several of my favorite fantasies but I have to admit, this is most definitely a case of creepier in real life than text." Phoenix responded and Loki snickered, leaning back and tilting his head to look over at Taylor who he really did need to get a moment alone with.

Though… the idea of leaving Gabriel bothered him.

Maybe they were right about the creep factor. But it didn't feel weird. It felt right. Righter than any of the human crap he'd experienced since he woke up in the snow.

"_Dude_."

"I believe that I'm owed an explanation." Loki reminded them, smiling broadly when Angela brought him a sandwich. Carefully he twisted around in Gabriel's lap so he wasn't facing the TV and took the offered food, biting into it and making admittedly pornographic sounds as he downed the first food he'd had in two days. Despite the instincts, he was careful not to eat too fast knowing full well it would bite him in the ass.

"_Every aspect of him we _don't_ like_." Sam's voice came over the line and Loki snorted.

"You loved me, Sammy. Don't even deny it."

"_You _tortured_ me, you dick!_" Technically, he tortured both brothers. But he was admittedly crueler to the younger brother. It was justified, though. His lessons were always justified.

"And you killed me. Or tried to. Fair is fair." Loki grinned at the angry Hunter.

"_Next time I won't miss_."

"Is that a promise?"

"Loki." Gabriel's tone was a gentle warning and he rolled his eyes, "Behave."

"That's everything I'm _not_, though. Must be what's wrong with you." Loki hummed softly, leaning into the other man as he wrapped an arm around his waist. "But I'll stop. So, back to myinitial question. What in the ever-living _hell_ is going on?"

"I lied to you?" Phoenix asked more than stated and he snorted, glowering at the orange haired man- no woman?

It didn't matter right now. Phoenix had kept clearly vital information from him and for the time, he didn't care what pronoun the fiery haired one was using. He was an ass.

"_Clearly_. An entire _Apocalypse_ came and passed and you couldn't be bothered to tell me? Have you lost your _mind_?"

"It wasn't like I did it for the hell of it!" Phoenix scowled, "Lo, you are one of my favorite plot twists in all of reading and I was told _not_ to tell you. That you'd _die_ if I did. So, yeah. I kept my mouth shut and I told you what I _could_ tell you. Under no circumstances was I supposed to tell you about Gabriel. And like it or not? I _didn't_."

"Well next time you have some life-changing revelation you're keeping from me _about_ me? How about you let me make the choice myself." Wiping at his mouth, Loki leaned back into Gabriel and sighed heavily. "So, what's the deal with _this_?"

"Well…" Gabriel shifted beneath him and he turned his head to meet the anxious gaze of the other man. "In theory, it should have ended when we encountered each other."

"So, what? We go back to being Jekyll and Hyde? That's how this goes?"

"Who?"

Loki groaned, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes. So pop culture was dead.

"_No. There's no personality split. You are the same person. You should've gone back to being who you were before."_

"Well, Sammy. The answer's pretty straightforward then." Loki hummed, kissing Gabriel softly before getting out of the not-archangel's lap and crossing his arms over his chest. "I have no interest in being him again."

"Loki-"

"And even if I did, we're clearly not complete. There's a missing part."

"_What are you talking about_?"

"Gabriel?" Loki elbowed the not-archangel in the ribs, certain he was practical enough to catch onto the same thing.

"I believe… he is right."

"Phe, you've got your stupid books. Go get us a script. We're going to play a game."

"_What are you talking about, Loki?_" Loki looked up at the TV and met Dean's gaze through the screen, "_A script?_"

"A book. Best part of your lives. I know enough about _me_ to know I would never throw my ass in front of Lucifer. Would you, Gabriel? Phe, bring me the one where I died."

"I did." Gabriel responded, frown audible in his voice. "But… I am not particularly clear as to why I would."

"Humanity." Taylor spoke up as Phoenix left the room, Angela following him closely.

"I don't give a rat's ass about a bunch of humans. Especially if it's going to get me killed. I'm imagining Gabriel here is angel enough that he's not going to be willing to throw his ass on the end of a blade for the human race. Not if Daddy dearest dubbed it so. Am I right?"

Gabriel didn't answer and Loki turned, offering his hand to the angel who took it, allowing him to pull him to his feet. Next to them, Castiel was watching closely, silent.

"Is that true, Gabriel?"

"I- I never would have fought Lucifer. It would be suicidal and… that was Michael's fight. Not mine."

"Which means we're _missing_ something, or someone. The one that would happily help a bunch of rats out of their cages. Someone that can express _empathy_ because let's all be honest. I'm an asshole and Gabriel here has as much heart as a non-rebel angel from Heaven can muster. So, let's do some confirmation. You remember our showdown with Lucifer, right?" Humming, Loki tugged Gabriel down and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Let's put our dancing shoes on, not-me. We can play fill in the blank."

"I can do that," Gabriel swallowed heavily, grabbed him by his hips and pulling him up so he could wrap his legs around his waist.

"_Still creepy._" Dean muttered in the background and Loki hummed contently as he ran his hands across the angels back, pressing his fingers against the bruises in the center where he now knew their wings once were.

"I can agree completely. This is very uncomfortable." Castiel answered from the couch.

"I found it." Phoenix announced as he came back in the room, Angela missing.

He would need to talk to her later.

"What do you want me to do, Loki?"

"Do what Sammy here failed to do all those years ago. Star as dear old _Lucifer_." Phoenix made an annoyed sound and Loki didn't need to look at the TV to know that Sam was storming out like a petulant child. "Come on, Phoenix. Cosplayer extraordinaire. Let's play a strange game of fill in the blanks. I mean, sure, I could just recite my lines off but working off someone else is so much easier. Especially when there are defined gaps in the memories."

"I thought you were pissed at me."

"I _am_."

"Then, no. I brought the book. I'm not playing along."

"Taylor?" Loki shot her his best puppy dog eyes and she sighed heavily, going over and taking the book from Phoenix. "I'll make it up to you later, promise."

"You like him?" Gabriel asked and Taylor gave them a long look.

"I enjoy him."

"We're lovers in arms." Loki chimed in, blowing her a kiss. "Isn't that right?"

"Or I'm taking advantage of you, sugar. Now what am I reading, Phe?"

"I can't believe you're doing this," Phoenix muttered, flipping through the pages and showing her a line. "Just follow Lucifer's dialogue. The actions aren't important. He's just being dramatic anyways."

"And you're being a real boner killer, Phe. I thought you wanted me."

"I _do_ want you, Lo. Doesn't make you any less of an asshole."

"Ready?" Taylor cleared her throat and Loki closed his eyes.

"I can start." Loki offered, the image of Kali on the floor burning behind his eyelids like the flames of the Goddess. His wife, no matter how warped. It hurt, but it also felt good to _remember_. Something. Anything. "_Lucy, I'm home. Not this time._" He'd lifted his once-wife up carefully, gaze never leaving the blood soaked Archangel standing before him, "_Guys! Get her outta here_."

"_Over a girl. Gabriel, really? I mean I knew you were slumming, but I hope you didn't catch anything_." Taylor's voice was smooth and precise, just as venomous as he could remember Lucifer's voice actually being. Damn, this girl missed her calling. She should've been an actor. Loki shivered, biting hard at his cheek. Kali had been his cause, but not his reason to stay. Once she was out, he would have left. There was no reason for him to stay.

Only an idiot would have stayed.

"_Lucifer, you're my brother_." Gabriel spoke up from in front of him, grip tightening almost painfully. Somehow grounding as they both relived the memory.

"-_But you are a great big bag of dicks_." _There. _Something was missing. He _knew_ something was missing. The words flowed from his tongue effortlessly, easy and familiar yet also missing something. Something he couldn't place.

He was right.

"_Wait, what did you just say to me_?" Taylor read the words but what he was hearing was the echo of the memory.

The day he'd died.

"_I lied. This is a thousand times creepier. Dude, get back in here!_" Dean's voice barely broke the immersion of the memory as it flooded around him, gaps manifesting as he stood against the devil.

Another gap. Something missing. But the show needed to go on. This was proof. Not just a weird gap. "_Boo hoo! Daddy was mean to me, so I'm gonna smash up all his toys._" Loki couldn't help his smile at his own words. It was such a perfect analysis of what Lucifer's Apocalypse was.

"Should I stop?"

"No." Phoenix responded quietly, "This is bizarre. And kind of cool."

"_Watch your tone._"

_"Play the victim all you want." _Loki remembered glaring at Lucifer, staring him down.

_"But you and me? We know the truth. Dad loved you best. More than Michael, more than me." _Gabriel spoke up, kissing the side of his neck and shivering slightly.

_"Then he brought the new baby home and you couldn't handle it."_

_"So this is all just one big temper tantrum." _Gabriel continued, Loki adding his own words, feeling larger than life.

_"Time to grow up."_

"Here. This part." Phoenix interrupted and Loki snorted, "No. I'm serious. This is about standing up for humanity? That's where you want to go."

"Okay. Ready, guys?"

"Yes." Both Loki and Gabriel responded at the same time.

"_You disloyal_-" Taylor recited and silence followed.

"_Oh, I'm loyal. To them_." Phoenix recited what Loki assumed was their gap, the lines they had missed awkwardly. The memory itself was empty there. He didn't even remember the statement.

"_Who? These so called Gods?_"

More silence followed, lethal and awkward. "_To people, Lucifer. People._" Phoenix spoke up again and Loki swallowed at the empty feeling in his chest. He kissed Gabriel again, just to feel something- anything.

"_So you're willing to die, for a pile of cockroaches. Why?_"

"_Because Dad was right._" Gabriel continued, silence following again and Loki pressed his face into Gabriel's neck.

"_They are broken. Flawed! Abortions._" Taylor said this part with less feeling, voice quivering a bit.

Loki didn't want to keep going so he shut up completely, kissing Gabriel again deeply.

"We're done." He breathed as he pulled away from his other half, "I'm right. That's all that we need to know. Now me and him? We're going to lay down. Tay, if you want to join us then be my guest but this isn't helping anymore. I'm right, clearly. So, have fun trying to find a third of a whole when we clearly don't have a damn clue who the heart of the trio is. I'm going to go sleep with myself."

"_Loki, wait-"_

"Gabe. Please." Loki tightened his legs around the other man's hips as he was carried from the living room towards one of the guest rooms.

They needed time together, time to think.

**.-~*~-.**  
GABRIEL  
***~-.-~***

Gabriel swallowed heavily as he carefully pried Loki off of him, the God gripping a pillow against his chest and wrapping his legs around the cushion as he muttered softly in his sleep. It was endearing, kind of sweet if Gabriel didn't know the things that he knew about Loki.

"Taylor, I need to apologize." Gabriel said quietly and she pushed past him as she walked over to the bed, sitting down next to Loki and carding her fingers through his hair.

"My best friend's girlfriend killed a man today, Gabriel. That is something she will never forgive herself for. Soon, the police will be at her door and we ran from the scene. You and your angel, even Loki, you'll go off to hide. Ang, though? Ang isn't exactly lying low on the radar and Phe? The world's not going to look kindly on the boy-girl accomplice. No matter how the world is changing."

"It was not just me that let her come with us, Taylor." Gabriel reminded her, "You were as involved as I was."

Taylor glared at him, marched forward and grabbed him by his shoulder to drag him to the hall where she shoved him against the wall. "_I_ tried to take the damned _gun_, you asshole!" Taylor spat, pinning him by his throat with her forearm. "You were the one that told her to keep it and now she's facing prison because we can't prove it was self-defense!"

"We _saved her life_. She would be _dead_, damn it."

Gabriel struggled against her, shouting out when a knee slammed into his thigh.

"Taylor!" Stumbling to his knees, Gabriel moaned in pain as he caught the sight of Loki knocking Taylor over out of the corner of his eye.

"Woah, woah, hey!" Phoenix appeared in his peripheral and pried the angry Loki off Taylor. "Can't leave you alone for ten minutes? What the hell, guys!"

"Ask _her_." Loki bit out angrily as he came to Gabriel's side, careful fingers prodding at his neck where he could feel bruises manifesting already.

"Taylor?"

"I- Phe, Angela _killed_ your brother. It's not just some game anymore, not a funny story to tell your kids one day. This is_ real life_ and she killed a man! That doesn't just go away because someone wants it to. There are _real world_ consequences. If you'd stop with your fangirling for five damned minutes you'd realize that your girlfriend has-"

"I did something I would have done either way," Angela interrupted, coming down the hall and looking between them all. "The next time that bastard showed his face, I was going to blow his brains out."

"Ang-" Phoenix started but she shook her head and he stopped. "Taylor, I love you for defending my honor. Really. No one could've asked for a better future in-law. But this isn't something you could have prevented. This is me doing right by my sometimes-man."

"You ruined your life."

"I did the world good. Do you really think that Loki here's his first victim? Psychos don't change, they escalate. I was waiting for him to show up here to try to kill me. I don't regret it because… regret is for when you're wrong and I wasn't wrong."

"I don't know whether to be upset or proud."

Gabriel leaned back against the wall, Loki depositing himself in his lap and muttering under his breath about sleep deprivation.

"Is no one going to talk about the fact that she's probably going to prison?"

"It was self-defense." Angela responded with a shrug. Even Gabriel recognized how ridiculously calm she was being, how stupid of an idea it was. This woman had backed herself into a corner. And to an extent, she was right. Castiel's healing had removed evidence of self-defense. But they were missing information.

"Good God, Ang. There's no evidence pointing to _self-defense_."

"I did what I had to."

"Babe, you've ruined your life. I… Taylor's right."

"I cleaned the scene." Castiel's voice came from down the hallway. "I removed all of Angela's blood from the floor, anything traceable from her gun. Phoenix cleared the security system and I burned up any sort of backups."

"You did… what, Castiel?" Gabriel was unsurprised by this information but everyone else seemed taken off guard as they looked up at the tired angel standing just inside the doorway. Especially Loki that abandoned his place in his lap, crossing the hallway and wrapping his arms around his younger brother's side.

"You little genius!"

"Why- how…" Taylor's voice was shaky as she struggled to her feet.

"Do you truly believe that Sam and Dean have gone this long without incident because of their brains? I have been helping them for a long while. The police may arrive here but you know nothing, you saw nothing. You were at home. We are your witnesses. All night we were watching _Lord of The Rings_."

"Thank you." Angela muttered, calm façade breaking a bit as she wrapped Phoenix in a tight embrace, shivering as she buried her face in his shoulder. "Thank you. So much. _Thank you_."

"You are friends," Castiel shrugged it off and Gabriel sent a silent prayer of gratitude, the younger angel smiling at him from across the room as he pried Loki off of him. "And you helped him when you had no obligation to do so."

"That's a very… kind thing of you to do." Taylor mused and Castiel shrugged.

Quietly, Loki made his way back across the room, settling back into Gabriel's lap and pulling him down so that he could speak into his ear. _"_We need to go our separate ways. I can't focus when you're around. You know this, right?_"_ He nodded subtly, sliding his hand up the back of Loki's shirt to touch the matching marks of their lost wings. "Get your angel's wings functional again so you can go," Loki muttered, burying his face in his neck and shivering under the contact.

"Gabriel."

"Do Sam and Dean know?"

"I spoke with Dean. He said we should wait until I heal up to come back. That it would be better for the time-"

"In other words, he thinks we are unable to protect ourselves." They shared a look of agreeance before turning their attention to Phoenix and Angela. "Do you have a vehicle that we can borrow?"

"No." Taylor interjected before Angela could respond. "Hell no. You aren't bailing."

"We need to help them."

"Those two can handle themselves. You two aren't going anywhere until we deal with the police. We might need Castiel here to Jedi Mindwipe for us."

"There is only so much I can do," Castiel warned them. "Even angels have limits."

"Especially one that's got its wings clipped," Loki added. "Might be my brother from another life but I wouldn't trust him to completely save your ass."

"Thanks for the faith."

"Honest as a bluebird." Loki hummed, shifting around and leaving Gabriel red in the face.

"That isn't a saying."

"It is now." Loki responded, draping an arm over his shoulder. "Right, Gabe?"

There was a moment of silence before he was forced to shove the other man from his lap, earning a smirk from Loki as he leaned back, resting his head in his lap instead.

"Why would a bluebird be honest?" Angela asked, genuine curiosity seeping through the words.

"Because it's happy. Happy creatures don't need to lie."

"When we were young the older angels liked to compare Gabriel to a bluebird." Castiel mused.

"Really?"

Swallowing heavily, Gabriel rose carefully to his feet, tugging Loki up with him. "Castiel and Loki need sleep."

"So do you-"

"Loki, me and you- need to separate. Everyone here will need sleep for when the police arrive."

"Ass."

"Your idea." He countered, groaning when Loki tugged him down into a deep kiss, all sorts of dark promises flooding his system with the way the other man's mouth moved against his.

"Can someone die from kissing too much?" Phoenix asked loudly, tone filled with discomfort.

"The physical aspect is likely their soul trying to reconnect," Castiel answered as they parted. Breathing deeply, Gabriel rested his forehead against Loki's and met the tired man's gaze. "Unfortunately, until we find the third aspect that cannot happen."

"So they're going to be all over each other until then?"

"Not exactly," Gabriel responded, Loki's expression was soft and taunting, arrogance bleeding off of him in waves but… there was something else there. Nerves, wariness. Not that Gabriel blamed him. There were plenty of reasons to be wary. Anything could happen to that third part and if it did?

What would happen to them?

"Loki is a very physical being. Presence is all I need, he… needs more."

"If it wasn't creepy, it would be sort of hot." Loki snorted. "I'm serious. I mean I know you're in a chick's body and he's in a dude's but it's still creepy. Guess knowing kinda ruins the fantasy."

"Phoenix." Angela all but begged.

"Sorry. Fanboy freaking out here." The apology sounded genuine enough and Gabriel finally parted from Loki completely, looking at Castiel from across the hall.

"Loki, no molesting our brother."

"But he's so handsome." Loki hummed from next to him, "Don't look at me like that, Taylor. I'm a Pagan. My morals are skewed."

"You're horrible."

"But you love me- or at the very least _like_ me. You were worried." Loki accused before returning to the spare room. After giving him a worried look, Castiel caved and came the rest of the way down the hall, following Loki in.

"I should…"

"Go ahead, Taylor. Me and Angela can handle Gabriel."

"Thank you," She muttered quietly, disappearing into the room and closing the door.

"You're tired," Phoenix pointed out as he made his way towards the living room past them.

"I'm exhausted," He admitted as he collapsed onto the couch. "This situation with Loki is extremely uncomfortable for me."

"I still don't understand how that works," Angela admitted as she sat at his feet, Phoenix taking the chair. "I mean Loki's little show kind of established… something? I guess?"

"Without all of the flair," Gabriel muttered, covering his eyes with his arm. "I was under the assumption that there were two of us, myself and Loki. But… there has to be another. A third identity."

"Which you don't remember." Angela filled in and he nodded faintly.

"I'm the Archangel, my personality aspects are limited heavily by my angelic nature."

"In other words… you're Cas before he turned on Heaven?"

"Not exactly. The angels we know now, they were created after Lucifer's Fall. It is no mistake that Archangels exhibit more personalized behaviors than most angels are capable of. We were created to have freedoms. I have always been able to question, it was never the problem. My flaw, the flaw of my brothers is that at our cores, we lack empathy. Whatever I did to myself would have opened my mind for more but ever since my return I've been behaving like an angel. My mindset has been combative, but most importantly… I have been purely protective of my brothers."

"Your brothers." Phoenix repeated and he nodded slightly, not moving his arm from his eyes. "I don't… brothers?"

"Castiel and Dean." Gabriel admitted, "It's a very long story that I am too tired to tell. I wasn't joking when I said we need sleep."

There was a moment of silence before Angela's weight disappeared from the couch. "Alright… Gabriel, Dean sent a message to us, something that we're totally-"

"I can sleep one night on my own, Phoenix. Thank you for your offer but, really. I will be okay on my own."

"If you change your mind… we've done enough cuddling with Loki's weirdly non-sexual wants to be sexual endeavors. If you need it, our room is the first left up the stairwell."

"I'll remember that," Gabriel accepted the offer, closing his eyes. Shoes hit the floor signifying Phoenix's departure, pausing for a moment before completely leaving the room.

"Yes, Angela?"

"Just… one question." Angela's voice quivered a bit and he pulled his arm from his eyes, smiled tiredly at the anxious looking woman.

"Do you truly believe that I will get away with this?"

"I think… that if all else fails, we won't let you go to prison. Loki has a lot of respect for you three and that kind of loyalty from a God can be a dangerous thing. So, if Castiel did make a mistake, be prepared for the wrath of a Trickster to rain down upon anyone that harms you."

"That… did not comfort me at all."

"Goodnight, Angela."

"Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"Do you want me to?" She turned away from him, shivering faintly.

"I killed my boyfriend's brother. An angel may or may not have saved me from a prison sentence and… hell I think I've gotten used to Loki sneaking his ass into our bed at night."

Frowning, he considered his options for a long moment before getting to his feet and trailing over to the woman to hug her gently to his chest. "You will be okay, but I will lay with you if it will help. Admittedly… I sleep better with others. It's an angel thing."

"Then let's sleep." Gabriel wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her through the house, up the stairs.

No questions were asked when both him and Angela joined Phoenix in the bed, though in the midst of it all he worried for the state of his brothers.

The night was not a good sleep.

**.-~*~-.**  
LOKI  
***~-.-~***

The next day left Loki and Phoenix eating the leftovers from breakfast while Taylor muttered about how disgusting the both of them were, heading into the living room where Castiel and Gabriel were already watching the morning news.

"You're just jealous about my girlish figure, Taylor!" Taylor scowled at Loki as he grinned at her, wiping syrup from his face.

"I've changed my mind. I didn't miss you."

"You absolutely did. Come give me a kiss, sugar."

"Maybe when you don't look like a toddler." Loki pouted petulantly, everyone in the room freezing when the bell rang, followed by knocking on the door.

Three, loud, firm, knocks.

Phoenix jumped to her feet and darted into the other room, Taylor trailing after her and Loki getting to his feet to follow the others.

Gabriel and Castiel stayed seated on the couch as a shaking Angela wiped at her eyes, put on the calmest expression she could muster. When Loki reached her he pushed between her and Phoenix, grabbed her by the side of her face and pulled her down so they were eye-level.

"You did nothing wrong."

"I know but-"

"The scene was cleaned. There's no evidence you did anything. Don't you dare freak out on us. You hear me?"

"I- yes. I hear you."

"Nothing will happen to you." He promised her, releasing her and letting her go towards the door, Phoenix casting him a look as he followed them to the door.

"Officers-"

"Lola Stark?" Loki frowned, narrowed his eyes at the police officers at the door.

"Yes?"

"Step aside, Ms. Markson."

"What is this about?"

"Mrs. Stark, do you really want to do this in front of your friends?"

"Do what? What in the ever-living Hel do you want with me?"

Impatient, one of the police pushed past Phoenix and caught him by his wrist, slapping a cuff onto it before he could jerk away.

"What the-"

"Lola Stark, you are under arrest for the assault and murder of one Chad Bradley."

"Excuse me? Get your hands off me!" Loki managed to catch the arresting officer square in the jaw before his other hand was cuffed.

There was yelling from the others, demands for proof and answers to a hundred questions that flew over his head as metal dug into his wrists. Gabriel was at the end of the entryway, staring at him with wide eyes, whispering to Castiel who had the most confused and stunned look he could muster on his face.

_They can't help me._

He fought with all his might, hating his stupid frail form for all it was worth as he struggled against the officers.

As he was dragged to the police car in the driveway.

What he saw when he pressed his face to the car door was Taylor running for her truck, Phoenix trying to grab her and stop her. Angela was in the door, crying as Castiel held her awkwardly. Gabriel was next to Castiel, staring helplessly at him from the doorframe.

So he was getting arrested. The damned _victim_. What kind of screwed justice system was this? He'd been tortured and now he was going to jail for a murder he -surprisingly- didn't commit.

_Freyja._

In a sudden panic, Loki screamed it at the door, knocked his head against the glass hard enough to see stars as he yelled it at the top of his lungs, "FREYJA! CONTACT FREYJA!"

The arresting officer ignored him as he started the car, putting it in drive.

Odin help him he was so screwed.


End file.
